Sports Kenya CEO Fred Muteti addressing the press on Friday, January 20, 2017.PHOTO/Raymond Makhaya
NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 20 – Sports Kenya and representatives of seven county governments have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the construction of stadia which will be completed by August.
Sports Kenya CEO Fred Muteti on Friday confirmed that work has already began in the counties of Nyeri, Tharaka Nithi Marsabit, Elgeyo Marakwet, Kiambu, Makueni and Uasin Gishu to fulfill the government’s pledge.
The 25,000 capacity stadia will be built according to international standards at a cost of Sh1.5bn.
“The government gave pledges of building stadia but it has taken long. Building a stadium is not an easy job. The planning has ended today and constructions begin immediately, we have contractors ready and in the next two weeks they will be on site for ground breaking,” Muteti announced.
The Sports Kenya boss reiterated that plans to erect three modern stadia in Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu for international training and competition is still on and work will begin immediately after the conclusion of talks with the public, private partnership stakeholders.
Sports Kenya CEO Fred Muteti with Makueni County Government representative Joshua Wambua.PHOTO/Raymond Makhaya
He also added that the project will roll out to other counties in the 2017/18 financial year.
“It has been a long journey working with the county governments to find suitable lands for the stadia. The government and public procurement as spelt out in the constitution of Kenya and the disposal act have guided the entire process and have been followed to the letter,” Muteti said.
“We have begun the process because the right infrastructure plays a great role in talent development. We will be employing the sports officers who previous worked with the department of sports to help start sports programme in every county. We will recruit more technical and professional staff and work closely with sports federations to ensure this mandate is fulfilled.”
Sports Kenya will also partner with the Kenya Academy of sports to ensure that elite sports men and women selected into national teams get the right training and exposure so that they do well in international competitions.
In 2013, the Jubilee Government promised to construct five ultra-modern stadia in Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru, Kisumu and Garrisa as well as renovating the current ones.
