There is nothing permanent except change, so the saying goes. And after the elections in August and October, many expected changes to be made in the composition of the national and county government administrations, more so regarding the people holding various positions and dockets.
For Kisumu County government, those changes have been taking place since September following the declaration of Prof Anyang’ as the county governor after garnering more votes than Jack Ranguma.
(TOP: Michael Onyango, former ICT Minister, Kisumu County).
And the changes are leaving casualties – in form of those replaced and left without jobs – in its wake.
The latest casualty here is Michael Onyango – who served as Kisumu County government’s ICT Minister since April 2015 – who has seen his previous docket merged with that of Education and Human Resource Development. At the head of the expanded docket is Dr John Obiero Ogone.
Onyango, who formally left his position at the county government at the end of September, sent the message below to his friends, colleagues and partners, this morning – that is December 31, 2017:
Dear Colleagues, Good Friends and residents of The Great County
As the year ends, it is inevitable reminder to all of us that life transitions will always be there. I have overtime learnt over the years to embrace change, even when they hit and may seem to be difficult and sometimes painful windows, long term they do lead to new opportunities, depending on your take.
All our lives unfold in steps and stages, my stint and journey as the first County Minister, Communication, Information and Technology – Great County of Kisumu, also came to an end. The achievements, milestones that we had could have never been possible with those whom I would like to acknowledge in the video, in the link below.
Let me acknowledge that the video is long, tried to capture the pertinent people/organistions that made my service to the people and this journey worthwhile, despite the many challenges of being part of and setting up a pioneer government, with no template for devolved government.
If don’t see yourself in the video, please do accept my personal thanks, it’s just that we couldn’t have a much longer viewing.
Most Grateful thank you all, have a God Blessed 2018!
Respectful Yours
Hon. Michael Onyango
County Minister
Communication, Information and Technology
County Government of Kisumu
April 2015-September 2017
Earlier in his career, Onyango had a stint PR, serving as the sub-Saharan head of PR at the now defunct ZK Advertising. ZK Advertising handled the Zain Africa account for a number of years before it was rebranded to Airtel.
The merger of the ICT docket with Education and HR Development also makes Kisumu one of the few counties with no stand-alone ICT Ministries. In Nairobi County, the ICT docket is held by Charles Kerich, a former editor at Radio Africa Group (RAG).
Thanks for the great work that you have been doing.It’s my hope that those of us taking IT related courses will get internship opportunities in the ministry.