Photo Courtesy: Official Page of Governor Abdulswamad
On July 20th, the very first Comrades Kikao took place at the TUM Assembly Hall. The event was hosted by the TUM Students Association (TUMSA) in collaboration with the Mombasa County Government. The governor, Honorable Abdulswamad Shariff Nassir, was invited for a special engagement with the youth. The event was attended by student leaders from various higher learning institutions in Mombasa, including JKUAT Mombasa, UoN Mombasa, MKU Mombasa, and Kenya National Coast Polytechnic, among others. In attendance were also the Vice Chancellor, Professor Laila Abubakar; DVC-ARE, Professor Peter Gichangi; Dean of Students, Mr Joel Awino, and different County Officials and Chief Officers, ready to listen to the students.
TUMSA, a recognized body in the university charter, gave students the freedom to voice grievances and share insights on various matters affecting them. Some of the discussed topics include scholarships, allocation of bursaries for tertiary institutions, waste management, attachment and internship opportunities, security, sports tournaments for youth, including those for people living with disabilities, sports scholarships, talent exhibition platforms, and a film and media production studio for students, among other important issues.
Hon. Abdulswamad Shariff Nassir extensively discussed the achievements and strategies of the county government on various matters. These include the Elimu fund and bursaries, the "Mombasa ni yangu" initiative aimed at engaging youth in profitable opportunities, the certification of Coast General Hospital to provide affordable health certificates for seafarers, plans to fully finance football players, and the ongoing efforts to develop Mombasa into a smart city to address insecurity issues.
The governor listened attentively to the suggestions offered and committed to follow up on some of them. This includes waiving food-handling fees for catering students, starting a joint mentorship program for university students in Mombasa, partnering with TUM to upgrade the health facility within the institution, reviving TUMO radio, ensuring sea time for seafarers at Bandari and other institutions, providing free access for students at the stadiums being renovated (e.g., Bomu and others to follow), and establishing a film studio in the county for artists to benefit from.
Furthermore, students from TUM requested assistance from the County Government to complete the rebuilding of the Student Centre, which burned down last year. The Student Centre was a bustling hub for students with small businesses. The governor also pledged to support this renovation as a way to empower the youth.
The governor announced that Mombasa KUCCPS students who are joining higher learning institutions in September will receive a stipend of Kshs 50,000 in their fees kitty. This initiative aims to support students in their academic endeavours by easing their financial burden.
The lively interaction at the Comrades Kikao was a huge success, enabling the youth to directly voice their challenges to the Mombasa governor and his officials. The Governor pledged to hold such Kikaos more frequently and at various institutions of higher learning. TUMSA President, Elvis Beast Otieno, concluded the session with a warm vote of thanks to the guests for accepting their invitation to this important conversation.
