The National Olympic of Kenya have insisted on the need to embrace best management practices as the newly-elected office got down to business with the first of a kind governance seminar held at a Nairobi hotel over the weekend.
The seminar, conducted by Donald Rukare, Uganda NOC secretary general, brought together Kenyan national federations where numerous observations were made and recommendations arrived at.
This bordered on governance areas of integrity, accountability, competence, duality and autonomy. Noc-Kenya president Paul Tergat observed that this is a first step in an effort to engage consultations in the running of the association for the better of sport going forward.
“We have realised that governance can make or break an institution,” said Tergat. “Where there is a bad governance structure, definitely the institution will fail.”
"As the Noc we have made it our purpose to ensure that at the end of our term, we will have inculcated accountability in our federations to enable them give our sportsmen and women the very best,” added Tergat.
“As managers and leaders who work in these federations, we want to make sure that, going forward, there is openness in everything we do unlike in the past. Even at the international level, accountability is crucial since we have to account for everything we get in terms of money,” he observed.
“As I have said before, things will not be the same again. We want to change this narrative and be more professional in how we approach issues in the management of sport.”
Tergat added that most of the issues discussed during the seminar will be institutionalised, with many more on the way.
“The era of having one meeting in a year (Annual General Meeting) is gone and we are going to see to it that we meet our members at least three times in a year to discuss any emerging issue,” added Tergat.
Rukare said: “The governance forum provides a unique forum for the federations to come together and discuss issues that concern them. This adds definite value going by the number of topics discussed and I appreciate that there is so much interest from the federations’ officials.”
“I believe it offers a opportunity for them (officials) to understand some of the governance issues that we are facing.”
He listed accountability, transparency, interference from state organs and access to information as some of the major challenges facing Nocs in the region.
“With these kind of seminars, we are going to iron out some of these challenges. Such cross-boundary engagements are crucial and I am encouraged by the commitment I have seem from those in-attendance,” added Rukare, a FINA bureau member and arbitrator at the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
“Governance starts with us as administrators and in this manner, we will be able to serve the sportsmen and women better.”
Rukare insisted on the significance of having East Africans at the highest echelons of sports management, regionally and internationally.
“By doing so, we will be able to articulate the region’s issues. Being at the policy-making table will enable us fight for what we believe is key for the growth of our sport in our region,” concluded.