Kenya: Newly-Formed Sports Body Calls for Review of Sports Act

By Omondi Onyatta

Nairobi — The newly-formed Sports and Recreation Professionals of Kenya (SRPK) have urged Sports Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba to spearhead a review of the Sports Act of 2013.

SRPK president Martin Yauma said a rethink of the law is necessary to facilitate close cooperation among different stakeholders in the industry to ensure Kenyan sportspersons realise their potential.

"It is high time that as a country, we acknowledge that good governance generally means that organizational policies and procedures are put in place to ensure that stakeholders in sports achieve their collective goals," Yauma said.

He added: "It is on this premise that we join other sports stakeholders in calling for a review of the Sports Act, 2013 to accommodate this new development, along with the other issues aimed at growing the industry."

The president further lamented over the disunity within the sports industry as the various federations quarrel within themselves and against each other.

He attributed this turbulence in the sector to the lack of well-thought and laid-out legal procedures to govern the conduct of activities of the various stakeholders.

"Lack of synergy, selfishness and poor relations among sports stakeholders has been one barrier in our dream to develop sports in Kenya. Locally, federations are at most times not in good terms with other sports organizations and this interferes with their activities of sports development in the country. We do not speak in the same voice and this is exploited to our disadvantage," Yauma said.

He was speaking at Heron Court, Nairobi, on Monday during the official launch of SRPK, whose main objective is to provide a platform for a collective voice for sports professionals in the country.

Yauma described sports and recreational professionals as an asset to the growth of the Kenyan sports industry, exuding confidence that the return of Namwamba to the ministry will bode well for the future.

"Since the introduction of sports related academic certification in universities, colleges and sports federation courses in Kenya the country has witnessed exponential growth in professionals undertaking the courses. As we speak, there are currently over 15,000 sports professionals in Kenya, having attained various levels of qualifications on the different areas of sports related courses," he said.

Yauma added that the association will also work closely with other stakeholders to leverage on sports to help curb societal ills, such as drug abuse and crime.

This article originally appeared in Capital FM

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