Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba wants Kipchoge Keino Stadium in Eldoret audited to ascertain why the facility has not been completed since he commissioned it 10 years ago.
The CS, who returned to the facility he commissioned in 2012 to host the London Olympics athletics Trials, was shocked by the status of the facility since he left as sports minister 10 years ago.
“I came here as the sports minister 10 years ago and commissioned the renovation of this project but obviously, no progress has been made since I left office.
"The little that has been attempted to be done is actually worse and the quality of the construction is definitely not up to standards.
"Remember we are talking about Kipchoge Keino Stadium, and Eldoret, the City of champions and the hotbed of sports talent. Sports facilities in this part of the country should be top of the range,” said Namwamba.
Namwamba said the facility is a prime venue that can be used to host international events like the Africa Cup of Nations and athletics bonanzas.
“While visiting Kinoru Stadium two weeks ago, I ordered an audit of all these facilities.
"The state of Kipchoge Keino Stadium right now tells me that an audit is more urgent and by the conclusion of the exercise, we shall know how much money was spent, why the facility still looks like this and why the contractor is not alive on the site before announcing the way forward."
Obviously, Namwamba claimed what is happening at ther facility could be a case of mismanagement, corruption, and misuse of public resources.
"We have agreed with the host governor (Jonathan Bii) that we are going to have a joint plan between the national government and county government to rise the status of Kipchoge Stadium to where it is supposed to be.
"I am absolutely 10o percent disappointed by the status of this stadium. The audit is not just something we are going to do in Eldoret but across the country.
"I will return to Uasin Gishu to do a more in-depth tour of sports facilities here and we are putting all contractors on notice and even those who have claims.
"How can you claim money when you have something that looks like this,” he said, adding that it is no longer business as usual but business unusual.
Uasin Gishu governor Jonathan Bii said because they have spent a lot of money and have nothing to show, they have to plan and start the journey again.
“We can't wait anymore now that we have the right CS and the right governor. We are going to embark on this as a matter of priority. The status of this facility is not good and I think the contractor should be answerable for this. If we don’t do a proper audit, we will be setting bad precedent for the future,” said the governor.
