President William Ruto has promised to complete all stadia and facilities in the country that have stalled over the years, in response to critics who condemned him for making a similar pledge while serving as deputy president in the previous regime.
Speaking at the launch of Talanta Plaza in Nairobi on September 1, President William Ruto stated that he now has the chance to fulfil the previous promise of constructing and upgrading stadiums in his capacity as the head of state.
"The government is committed to providing the infrastructure that will return international football to Kenya in a very significant and intentional way," said the president.
"We are all aware of the debate in Kenya about the stadia. Many people all the time reminded me about the stadia and how they were not complete. We now have the opportunity to prove the metal that we are made of by making sure that we complete all the stadia."
Therefore, he tasked Sports Cabinet Secretary, Ababu Namwamba, to draft a masterplan detailing how the government can upgrade facilities to international standards.
In light of the improvements, Ruto pointed to expanding opportunities by making sure the stadiums are accredited to host international events.
"We are at this moment upgrading the Moi International Sports Centre Kasarani, Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi and the Kipchoge Keino Stadium in Eldoret," said Ruto.
The President noted that the upgrades will boost Kenya's bid to co-host the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations with Tanzania and Uganda.
During the 2013 election campaigns, the Jubilee Coalition unveiled a manifesto that included building nine stadia across the country.
Under former President Uhruu Kenyatta, Jubilee further promised to improve and upgrade existing facilities.
"In six months’ time, the stadium in Wote will be complete. In three month’s time, the stadium in Chuka will be complete. In three month’s time, the stadium in Moyale will be complete. The stadium in Kamariny in West Pokot, which is historic, will be complete," William Ruto pledged during the manifesto launch in 2013.
"In a couple of month’s the stadium in Eldoret will be complete. In Nyeri there was a challenge with the title and now the program has been rolled. In another three four months the stadium will be complete. We have a small challenge in Mombasa because the county gov't has issues of ownership of the land but the contracts are complete." Ruto further stated.
However, more than ten years later, significant progress on the promised stadia has not been made. Nonetheless, Ababu Namwamba, after being appointed as Sports CS embarked on revamping sports facilities with the latest being Bukhungu Stadium.
The CS, on Friday, August 25, pledged to inject Ksh2.9 billion towards the completion of the stadium located in Kakamega County.
