Africa-Press – Kenya. An argument ensued between Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba and the Kipchoge Keino Stadium contractor over the state of affairs at the Eldoret-based facility.
The two had a bitter exchange of words in public over the delay in completion of the facility which Ababu launched way back in 2012.
Ababu demanded honesty from the contractor who seemed to speak from the two sides of his mouth.
The contractor had told the CS that he was on the site and work was in progress but when Ababu demanded to see the facility, the contractor changed the story, saying he had stopped construction due to lack of funds.
“Right now, I am not on the site due to lack of funds. If the funds were available, I could be working now,” the contractor recanted his story.
His statement seemed to rub the CS on the wrong side, warning that he can’t condone lies, especially, when it comes to a big project like Kipchogev Keino Stadium.
“How come you lied to me not even on the phone but live on my face? If I was away, I could have believed what you have told me,” said Namwamba.
Accompanied by Sports Principal Secretary, Peter Tum and Sports Kenya Director General, Pius Metto, the CS said as a ministry, they are working to ensure they have a very clear master plan for their projects.
“We have identified this region as deserving a world-class, state-of-the-art stadium, where our athletes can train. The good thing is that we now have a comprehensive Master Plan that identifies what needs to be done including when, where and to what standards,” said the CS.
“We have come here to send a message that there is a new way to do things. This way is very hands-on, keen on value for money, and the highest standards possible and we want constructors to work within this new system. The current contractors were inherited from the previous administration and the contract is still on but we will not condone bad manners. There is a new Sheriff in town and he wants things to be done differently,” he said.
He said that the duration it has taken to get to the Kip Keino facility at the current level is criminal.
“If you look at the football pitch, it looks like a grazing field. I launched the works for this stadium 10 years ago when I was the CS in this same ministry. I and the PS are committing to making resources available for such facilities. In fact, we have already started making resources available. The contractor can confirm that we have released some money to get them going,” he said
Ps Tum said they have dispersed funds to all contractors across the country to ensure the completion of the facility. “So far, we have dispersed funds to all facilities across the country to ensure construction continues,” said Tum.
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