Ministry of Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed believes preparations for the World Athletics Under-20 Championships at Moi Stadium, Kasarani will be complete by the end of next month.
Amina said she is impressed with the hard work put in by the organisers of the continental event, ahead of the event scheduled for August 17-22 in Nairobi.
“ I am happy with the progress I have seen so far. We have been refurbishing the facilities that will be of great use during the championships. I have seen the holding area and the offices and I must say they are up to international standards.
“The grass is also amazing and what we are now doing is to refurbish the track. We want to be ready and are not leaving anything to chance.
“Everything should be ready long before we start receiving visitors,” Aimna said.
The CS urged stakeholders to now up their efforts to mitigate the challenges experienced thus far and ensure World Athletics inspectors do not have any reason to cancel the event when they come to evaluate the country’s readiness.
“Generally, I am satisfied with the ongoing works, the challenges notwithstanding.
“Now we must double our efforts and work 24/7 to ensure the works are complete. Ideally, by the middle of June, we should be undertaking rehearsals such that by the time the inspectors come everything will be in place.
“The one year delay has been a blessing to the organisers because it has allowed them time to be meticulous in the preparations,” she said.
Part of the remaining works on Moi Stadium is repainting the seats with the colours of the Kenyan flag, just like Nyayo Stadium.
“The seats are relatively new; they were installed not so long ago when the old ones were damaged as a result of hooliganism. All we need to do is ensure the colour flows consistently across the seats around the stadium,” Amina said.
