Friday, June 14, 2013

Uhuru pledges cash rewards for national rugby team

Friday, June 14, 2013 - 00:00 -- BY PPS
President Uhuru Kenyatta has pledged to give a Shs 100,000 reward to every player of the Kenya Rugby Sevens National Team playing in the World Cup Championship in Moscow, Russia if the team wins the championship.
Speaking today at State House Nairobi when he handed-over the national flag to the rugby team, President Kenyatta said each player will get Shs 75,000 if they make it to the finals, Shs 50,000 if they reach the semis and shs 20,000 each if they qualify for quarterfinals.
 “You have done the country proud in the past and am convinced that you will do it again,” President Kenyatta said. Commending the national rugby team for its sterling performance in past championships, the President said the team has not only projected the country’s prowess as a sporting nation but also inspired many young people.
 “For a long time Kenya has been renowned for its athletes. But thanks to the Kenya Rugby Sevens, the country is now also renowned as a rugby playing nation.” The President said
 President Kenyatta underscored the importance of sports in addressing many of the challenges affecting the youth in the country.
 “I know no better way of tackling the issues of drug abuse, alcoholism and some other vices that we are tackling, than to create for our nation sportsmen and women who the youth can emulate and look up to,” President Kenyatta said.
 He said the country’s sports sector has been underfunded in the past stating that his Government will move to ensure sufficient budgetary allocation for sports.
 He said his Government is committed to giving full support to the sports fraternity. “We need to inject more money into sports to bolster support for our sportsmen and women who are ambassadors of the nation wherever they go,” President Kenyatta said.
 The President also commended the Kenya Rugby Union for its transparency and commitment to promoting the sport in Kenya and urged other sports federations to emulate it to make the country a greater sporting nation.
 Speaking during the occasion, Deputy President William Ruto pointed out that sports is a major component of the country’s development.
 Wishing the team success, Ruto said that sportsmen and women are great ambassadors of the country. “As you travel to Moscow for the championship, just know that every Kenyan is praying for you to emerge victorious,” the Deputy President Ruto said.
 Sports, Culture and the Arts Cabinet Secretary Dr. Hassan Wario disclosed that his ministry has been working closely with the Kenya Rugby Union and the national rugby team to ensure its success.
 The Cabinet Secretary pointed out that the ministry has already provided Kshs 3 million towards the national rugby team’s preparations and training in England on its way to Moscow for the World Cup Championship.
 Dr. Wario added that the ministry is also exploring the possibility of providing more funds for the actual participation of the rugby team in the Moscow World Cup Championship.
 In this connection, the Cabinet Secretary called for visionary leadership in sports federations, saying there is no place for politics in sports.
- See more at: http://the-star.co.ke/news/article-124390/uhuru-pledges-cash-rewards-national-rugby-team#sthash.tRIKXnUs.dpuf

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