Sports and Culture Cabinet Secretary, Ababu Namwamba, on Friday, December 1, ordered a prompt audit of recently constructed stadiums across the country.
Ababu issued the directive after inspecting Kinoru Stadium in Meru, whose uplift was undertaken by former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration.
However, the CS expressed his dissatisfaction with the standards of the project that cost taxpayers over Ksh900 million and only launched less than six months ago.
He did not hide his disbelief in the facility’s current state, which was, according to the government, constructed to international standards.
“I have made a ministerial directive to conduct an audit on all stadiums built recently to ascertain their standards vis a vis the amounts spent.
“This stadium cost the taxpayers close to a billion shillings. When I look around, I do not see a billion shillings. We must demand value for taxpayers’ Money,” Ababu stated.
Kinoru was one of the stadiums delivered by Uhuru’s government towards the homestretch of his ten-year tenure.
The CS promised to address the problem of sub-standard sports facilities, which noted that they put athletes at risk of injury.
In addition, he committed to upgrading stadiums in the country to intentional levels as prescribed by multinational bodies like CAF and FIFA.
“I leave Kinoru with disappointments, but I leave knowing that we have a monumental task to raise the stadium to the standards we want.
“Meru residents and Kenyans at large should be assured that we are going to raise this stadium to international standards,” he added.
The CS’s visit to Kinoru Stadium came two days after reports about a possible joint East African bid to host the African Cup of Nations broke on social media.
Since his appointment, he vowed to improve Kenya’s performance in sports. He reached a significant milestone after securing a deal that saw Kenya’s ban by FIFA lifted after almost a year-long ban.
Source: kENYANS.CO.KE