Govt. allocates Kshs.340m for international championships

Written By:PPS,    Posted: Fri, Aug 19, 2011

President Mwai Kibaki presents the Kenyan Flag to the Captains of the Teams participating in the World Athletics Championship in Daegu South Korea,the 10th All Africa Games and the 4th youth Commonwealth Games in State House Nairobi The Government has allocated Kshs 340 million to facilitate three teams that will represent the country in various upcoming international championships, President Mwai Kibaki has said. President Kibaki, at the same time, emphasized that the Government has allocated Kshs 111 million for developing Mombasa Municipal Stadium and Moi Stadium in Kisumu while rehabilitation of Kipchoge Keino Stadium in Eldoret was ongoing. The President was speaking Friday at State House, Nairobi where he presented the national flag to the three teams that will represent the country in the forthcoming All Africa Games, the IAAF World Athletics Championships and the Youth Commonwealth Games. In this regard, President Kibaki urged the youth to take advantage of the investments the Government is making in developing the sports industry in the country as a viable employment venture. President Kibaki said the youth must appreciate that the sports industry can equally offer jobs as the formal sector. "The youth must appreciate that it is not only the formal sector that can offer jobs. Opportunities for economic gain are also available in the sports industry," President Kibaki said. The Head of State added that apart from providing training facilities, the Government would continue offering incentives to all excelling sportsmen and women through the cash award scheme. He affirmed that the Government was steadfast in renovating regional stadia so as to install quality facilities of internationally acceptable standards to accord Kenyan sportsmen and women opportunities for appropriate training. The President stated, "In due time, we plan to put up small to medium sized but efficient sports facilities across the country in every region.  These efforts will continue, until we have quality facilities for training our sportsmen and women and nurturing their talent in internationally acceptable venues." 'Residential training' During the colourful occasion, President Kibaki urged the selected teams to maintain the high level of discipline, during their training and in actual competitions, that has enabled the country remain a leading sporting nation. Reiterating that the forthcoming sports events will be highly competitive and feature world acclaimed athletes, he urged the selected teams to step up exercises and other forms of preparation to boost their competitiveness. Said the President, "I am happy to learn that you are already in residential training camps under competent coaches and other officials.  I encourage you to step up exercises and other preparations that will enhance your competitiveness." At the same time, the Head of State called urged the selected teams to maintain a high level of discipline by adhering to the specified code of conduct during training and at the actual events. He added, "The events will, therefore, be highly competitive and demand dedication and hard work to win.  I urge you to uphold the same standards of commitment and hard work that you demonstrated in the qualifying events, in order to succeed, in maintaining our position as a leading sporting nation." Congratulating each athlete for being selected to represent the country through the highly competitive national championships, the President wished the teams success in their various sports disciplines. "I am pleased to present the National Flag to the teams who will represent our country in the forthcoming sports events that will take place in Maputo, Mozambique, Daegu, South Korea and the Isle of Man in the United Kingdom," the Head of State remarked. The President also praised Kenya's exemplary record in international sports dating back to the 1950s, adding that in many sports disciplines it was the team to beat. President Kibaki said, "The rest of the world would like to defeat us, especially in these areas which we have dominated over the years.  As a country, we must all join hands to guard this reputation by playing our rightful roles."   Sports Academy Affirming that good governance in National Sports Organizations is of paramount importance, President Kibaki called on all stakeholders to play their role in the entire process of identifying talented young people, and providing them with the necessary training needed.   "This is the only way to perfect our sporting talents.  We also need our sports people participating in more championships both locally and internationally," stated the President. The President affirmed that the Government recognized the need for intensified training for sportsmen and women as the sure way to maintain and promote sports excellence. In this regard, the Head of State stressed that local sportsmen and women must be guided appropriately in order to maintain a highly talented and trained reservoir of sportsmen and women. "For this reason, we plan, to establish an International Sports Academy to provide specialized training and a National Sports Lottery to provide funds for sports programmes," the President noted. The President added, "I wish to point out that delays in the establishment of a National Sports Lottery is depriving the sports sector crucial funding.  I am therefore directing the Ministries of Youth and Sports and Home Affairs to move expeditiously on this matter." President Kibaki wished the teams great success in their respective championships and called on them to keep the national flag flying high at all times. Speaking during the occasion, Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Dr. Paul Otuoma said the Kenyan teams to the 10th All African Games in Maputo, Mozambique, the IAAF World Athletics Championships in Daegu, South Korea and the 4th Youth Commonwealth Games in the Isle of Man in the United Kingdom were selected transparently to represent the country. Noting that the teams have undergone rigorous training, the Youth Affairs and Sports Minister expressed optimism that Kenya will bag more medals this than in than in previous championships. On talent development, Dr. Otuoma said his ministry has teamed up with the Ministry of Education in the identification of young talents in school for further development at the National Talent Academy. To further cultivate and develop sports, the Youth Affairs and Sports Minister said his ministry is set to recruit more sports officers who will be deployed to the grassroots level to promote sports. Other speakers included then National Olympic Committee Chairman Dr. Kipchoge Keino, the Chef De Mission of the team to the 10th All African Games Mr. Charles Nyaberi, the Chef De Mission of the team to the Youth Commonwealth Games Mr. James Chacha, the team manager of the IAAF World Athletics Championships Mr. Peter Pamba and Youth Affairs and Sports Permanent Secretary James Waweru among others.