Namwamba reveals the millions spent on Team Kenya in Budapest, clears the air on Sports Fund allocation

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ATHLETICS Namwamba reveals the millions spent on Team Kenya in Budapest, clears the air on Sports Fund allocation

Joel Omotto 17:00 - 11.10.2023

Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba has explained how much Team Kenya to Budapest consumed while revealing the amount raised from the Sports Fund and its usage

The government has revised the cash reward scheme to Kenyan athletes as a way of motivating them to do better in the various competitions.

Kenyan sportsmen and women were previously entitled to a daily allowance of Ksh1,000 while in camp in the country preparing for the various competitions with $60 (Ksh9,943) paid while out of the country but this has been increased three-fold with rewards for various medallists also elevated as new ones have also been implemented.

This was revealed by Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba while responding to a number queries raised by the Senate regarding his ministry.

“Upon coming to office a year ago, we have revised the rewards scheme for the entire sports ecosystem, raising rates for both allowances and cash rewards,” Namwamba said in his response to Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei, who sought to know the facilitation of Team Kenya’s participation in the 2023 World Athletics Championship in Budapest from the Sports Fund, including details of sponsorship agreements, athletes’ selection and amounts expended in the purchase of uniforms and air tickets and paid as allowances and rewards to each participant.

“Allowances have been tripled from Ksh1,000 to Ksh3,000 for local camping and USD 60 (Ksh9,943) to USD 200 (Ksh29,810) for out-of country or in-competition daily stipend. We have introduced a new cash award of Ksh5 million for breaking a world record, with Faith Kipyegon and Kelvin Kiptum as the first beneficiaries of this new scheme.

“We also significantly raised rewards for medal winners, to Ksh3, 2 and 1 million for gold, silver and bronze, respectively. We also introduced the Hongera Awards which, among other firsts, rewarded legends going back to the 1960s and also settled Ksh25 million in cash rewards arrears going back 11 years. We also have opened a HALL OF FAME to honour Kenya’s sporting and creative greats.”

On the team that went to Budapest and won 10 medals being three gold, as many silver and four bronze, Ksh147,299,127 was used on them, with Ksh76,856,490 going to return air tickets, Ksh36,697,296 spent on allowances, Ksh21,600,000 being cash rewards, Ksh11,697,318 paying accommodation and Ksh466,000 spent on the team’s homecoming.

The ministry also clarified on the thorny issue of amounts raised from the Sports Fund and how it has been expended, revealing that Sports has consumed the largest chunk of the money unlike previous sentiments that the lion’s goes elsewhere.

“Over the last five years, the Sports, Arts and Social Development Fund has realised total revenues from betting activities amounting to Ksh48,285,747,604. The Fund has also disbursed funds amounting to Ksh41,793,444,631 over the same period, 65 per cent of the disbursements was made to Sports Sector, 30 per cent to Social Development Sector, and for five for Arts and Culture,” added the CS.

“In the last Financial Year, 2022-23 the Fund realised revenues of Ksh10,427,518,883. The Oversight Board approved disbursement of Ksh7,951,585,007 to various sectors: Ksh6,362,344,334 to Sports Sector, Ksh1,264,591,806 to Social Development Sector and Ksh324,648,867 to Culture and the Arts Sector.”

Namwamba had told Parliament in August of his desire to have the Sports Fund exclusively fund sporting activities so as to ease operations at his ministry which suffers from yearly budget cuts.