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Kericho Senator Aaron Cheruiyot has urged the Government to speed up efforts in operationalising an initiative that will lead to complete resumption of sporting activities in the country.
Earlier this month, President Uhuru Kenyatta announced the return of sports competitions in Kenya, a month after suspension due to rise of COVID-19 infections.
And Cheruiyot, a formidable member of Bunge and Leysa FC wants the Ministry of Sports to come up with a raft of measures and regulations to guide the return of local competitive assignments to give sportsmen an opportunity to showcase their prowess and also earn a living.
“I hope that as Parliament we shall be able to give a lifeline to this industry that continues to suffer especially during this time of the pandemic. We know for a fact that many young men and women earn from sports yet even after the resumption of near-normal operations in various segments of society”
“We’re still awaiting for the Ministry of Sports to give their date of approval on resumption of all sports activities. Sports is huge and when young people play they earn and generate revenue hence need to devise a dimension shift approach that’s a bottom up phased to facilitate fully sports return” he remarked.
The Kenya Young Parliamentary Association (KYPA), legislator was speaking on Tuesday afternoon during tribute hour of the late Kenya 7s head coach Benjamin Ayimba, whom he described as someone who immensely contributed to the growth of rugby in this country; by inspiring those who ordinarily may not have loved the sport to fall in love with it.
He also said that he is working on a bill that seeks to unlock the potential of Kenyan athletes during their active involvement in the game and even after retirement.
“As policy makers we have to do what’s good for Kenyan sportsmen. Am working on the Sports Act Amendment Bill, which is in the formation stages and whose aim is to address the predicaments players go through. We did much towards formation of Sports Fund and even though its full mandate was not fully exploited, we are hoping that the Kenyan government will start treating our sports heroes with ultimate priority ” he added.
So far FKF Premier league has resumed after the stoppage ahead of the national team Harambee Stars World Cup qualifiers, where they will meet Uganda Cranes in their Group E opening match on June 5 in Nairobi.
Other federations including Athletics Kenya (AK), and Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) welcomed President’s sports reopening move as they pledged to strictly follow the Covid-19 protocols after resumption.
AK, FKF and KRU were among the federations that had resumed activities including local and international competitions before the stoppage on March 26.
Kenya is currently preparing for Olympic summer games slated to be held in July this year in Tokyo, Japan with National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOCK), set to send approximately 100 athletes to the sporting global extravaganza.
Currently, team Kenya squads that have been selected for the upcoming competition are in bubble training camp at Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani.
NOC-K noted that the athletes and officials signed an agreement to agree to and abide by the Covid-19 prevention procedures and protocols while in camp, failure to which they would be ejected.
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