Athletics Kenya boss tells Sports Minister to check his facts
Copyright : StarAfrica
Athletics Kenya (AK) has urged outgoing Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Ababu Namwamba to check his facts well and always consult before going public.
AK Chairman Isaiah Kiplagat said the government’s KSh350 million allocations for development of sports infrastructure was allocated to Department of Sports and not the Sports Stadia Management Board (SSMB).
Kiplagat which is a board member of SSMB said Sports minister Ababu Namwamba was misadvised about the allocation.
Kiplagat said SSMB is only allocated grants for maintenance of sports facilities and running the operations of the institution.
He said the Sh350 million which Ababu said was not well accounted for by SSMB was given tothe Department of Sports for development of sports facilities.
The chairman said the only funds the board has received from the government is for renovations at the Eldoret based Kipchoge Stadium where they have so far received KSh70 million out of the Sh100 million which has been set aside for the works at sports facility.
Kiplagat who was involved in a spat with Ababu at the official groundbreaking ceremony for the high altitude Lornah Kiplagat Sports Academy in Iten, said he had no hard feelings against the minister.
“The minister has not been advised well about the SSMB operations and that is why he spoke something that he did not know,” he said.
He added:”Saying that the funds have been mismanaged by SSMB is not true. The minister should be briefed accordingly on the actual state of affairs in the ministry and SSMB.”
Kiplagat said he has a lot of respect for Ababu as man charged with the responsibility of managing sports affairs in the country’s government.
The chairman urged Namwamba to stop issuing threats and handle any problem by using dialogue or any other peaceful means.
Kiplagat said he was not responsible for the loss of a 2004 Qatari Olympic Committee grant to have a stadium constructed in the North Rift.
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