How Mawanda has impacted on Igara East
By Chris Mugasha
After about two months away from his constituency- Igara East constituency, Hon. Michael Mawanda Maranga is back!
In his absence, about 600 students have been stranded and worried of how they were going to report back to school.
Mawanda is supporting about 350 students in different secondary schools and about 250 university students who are on Mawanda’s bursary in different universities.
Yes one may get angry with Mawanda especially on issues of reaching him via a phone a call but for the people of Igara East whom he represents in Parliament, they have mastered how to tap from him and benefit.
“We have been missing him but we have been praying for him. Mawanda knows our challenges and he understands how to tackle them accordingly,” says Ezra Mugisha a resident in Kyabugimbi Sub County.
Mawanda’s development interventions and initiatives which have made Igara East to prosper across all fields have kept him ‘close’ to the people.
Throughout his leadership, Mawanda has priotised education because he believes it’s the only ‘bullet’ to alleviate poverty.
In education, Mawanda’s determination to revive secondary schools like Kabushaho, Mwengura, Mugonya, Keinamo which government had phased out was a major relief to the communities/parents.
“There are other schools that our MP has lined up to be taken over by government,” Mugisha explains.
After lobbying for the re-opening of the above schools, Mawanda went ahead to make sure that these schools stand again by sponsoring students in every school.
Since 2010, Mawanda has been giving pre-Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) to over 90 primary schools in his constituency.
“Mawanda has always been at the helm of making sure that education is number one. He is deeply felt in the education sector because almost every school in his constituency has benefited from him,” commented one head teacher.
In 2023, Mawanda extended a donation of 40 computers to Kyeizooba Girl’s SS and 200 iron sheets to four primary schools including; Kamutyaza, Mwengura, Nyamitoma and Bunura.
According to the district chairman Jaffari Bassajjabalaba, Mawanda is one of the MPs who have lobbied government and helped Bushenyi district to access funds for a number of roads in the district especially in Igara East. No wonder, Igara East is an area with many roads done with first class murrum in Bushenyi district.
In health, Mawanda’s stand is that access to health should start from at least the parish level a reason why he is supporting the running of health centre IIs in his constituency like; Kitagata health centre II, Buyanja H/CII among others.
Had it not been Mawanda, it would have taken a lot of time for areas like Ruhumuro to get connected to power/electricity but as we speak now; electricity coverage stands at 70% in Ruhumuro. “The parishes of Bwera-Buyanja and Rwemiyonga are finally connected to electricity because of Mawanda,” commented Godfrey Kabatwere a resident of Bwera A village. End.
