NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 1 – The Kenyan athletics scene and the government breathed a collective sigh of relief on Wednesday evening after the country evaded a possible suspension from World Athletics over increased doping cases and now, the government has vowed to make even more efforts to tame the vice.
Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba says the Ministry will employ a multi-agency approach to try tame the vice that has threatened to drag Kenya out of World Athletics.
“We were very close to being suspended by World Athletics. We were on the brink. But as a government we have given our assurances and we have told World Athletics of the plans we have,” Namwamba said Thursday.
He added; “I want to thank World Athletics and its president Sebastian Coe for the trust and faith they have in us and for giving us a second chance. We will not disappoint. As government, we are putting in all our efforts.”
Namwamba had a brief meeting with Athletics Kenya boss Jackson Tuwei and some athletes who all expressed their relief at Kenya being spared of the WADA/AIU rod.
“We are very delighted as athletes because this is our life, and this is what we do everyday. We cannot allow some few who want to win with shortcuts derail the success of the country,” said Mary Moraa, the Commonwealth Games 800m champion.
AK boss Tuwei said that they will continue with the programs to ensure they stem the vice.
“An athlete cannot get to dope without support from somebody else. We want the athletes to also come out and tell us who are doing it. We are looking for characters within us who create this problem. This is the group we want to identify. It looks like it goes beyond the athlete,” he said.
Tuwei added; “We cannot deny that we have middle people in this country and people interested in doing business. There could be a lot of things going on and we need to discover. This multi-agency approach and the increase in funding will see us go for all of that.”
The government has pledged Sh600mn annually in budgeting for the fight against doping and it will be invested in education and testing to increase the pool of athletes.
“We have promised to be transparent, open to this matter and be accountable. We have also promised a multi agency approach system to Athletics Kenya. We will reveal our action plan over the next few days,” said CS Ababu.
Despite having there been previous efforts to storm the vice which have done little to improve, Namwamba says he is optimistic the new measures his office is trying to employ will bear fruits.
“I can imagine the frustration with failed past efforts. But there is a new air in the room. When there is a new sheriff in town, there is a new way of doing this. Let’s see how we can do things differently. We are carrying a new broom and let’s see if it will sweep better,” added the CS.
