Tokyo Olympics: Tergat, Kioni, Amina read the riot act
Poland's Sofia Ennaoui (left), Netherlands' Sifan Hassan (second left), Ethiopia's Besu Sado (fourth left), Kenya's Faith Chepngetich Kipyegon (centre), Colombia's Muriel Coneo(second right), and Australia's Jennifer Blundell (right) compete in the Women's 1500m Round 1 during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at the Olympic Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on August 12, 2016.
What you need to know:
- Government warns no room for joyriders, corruption in Tokyo-bound team
- Kioni said lessons have been learnt from the Rio 2016 Olympics fiasco where over Sh88 million was lost in fraudulent deals.
- NOC-K President Paul Tergat also warned officials entrusted with Team Kenya responsibilities against having their hands in the till.
The government has formulated a travel policy for its officers ahead of the Tokyo Olympic Games with Team Kenya’s Chef de Mission to the Games, Waithaka Kioni, maintaining that there will be no room for joyriders, financial impropriety or any mischief in the build-up to the Games.
Closing a two-day retreat organised by the National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) and the Ministry of Sports, Culture and Heritage in Naivasha on Thursday, Kioni said lessons have been learnt from the Rio 2016 Olympics fiasco where over Sh88 million was lost in fraudulent deals.
“We officials at NOC-K have reputations to protect and we shall not allow any misappropriation of funds or any impropriety in our operations,” said Kioni, who is also the Kenya Volleyball Federation President and Vice-President of the Confederation of African Volleyball.
NOC-K President Paul Tergat also warned officials entrusted with Team Kenya responsibilities against having their hands in the till.
“What is not yours will never be yours,” the former world marathon record holder and five-time world cross country champion said, sentiments that were reinforced by Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed.
The CS said priority will be given to athlete comfort during the Tokyo Games, hence the decision by the government to come up with a policy on travelling officials.
“We are not going to Tokyo to run, so why should the focus be on us? I don’t mind staying far from the Olympic Stadium, as long as the athletes who are going to compete get the best treatment,” she said.
“Millions of Kenyans will be tuning in to watch our sportsmen and women competing, and not the officials.”
Key among the decisions made by the joint ministry and NOC-K teams was the launch next month of a “bubble training hub” for teams and athletes already qualified for the July 23 to August 8 Olympic Games along with the reconstitution of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Steering Committee and Central Management Committee.
The first Central Management Committee Meeting to be held on January 6, while the Steering Committee Meeting will meet on January 13.
The Ministry and NOC-K will also enter into a Memorandum of Understanding setting out the respective roles and expectations to guarantee seamless delivery of the Games with clear responsibilities and accountability structures.
Focus on media
The Naivasha conference also laid down proposals for a more effective approach to media operations to Team Kenya in Tokyo, including putting together a strong communications team that will give the Kenyan narrative.
Additional focus will also be given to anti-doping protocols and procedures with a proposed elaborate anti-doping programme.
Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya chief executive Japhter Rugut said additional funding will be required for more tests on the Tokyo probables.
NOC-K and the ministry took key learnings from recommendations of the Rio 2016 Olympics Probe Committee that was constituted by the government to investigate Kenya’s mismanagement of the 2016 Games in Brazil.
Among other issues, the Rio Probe report revealed that there was a lot of unfairness in team selection for the 2016 Olympics, especially in rugby and athletics and that the steering committee abdicated its work while NOC-K took advantage of the vacuum they left to run everything including areas they had no competency.
“Athlete kits provided by Nike and East African Breweries Limited were misappropriated by NOC-K, leaving athletes with fewer kits,” the report of the committee chaired by Paul Ochieng read.
“The eight-year (2013-2020) contract between Nike and NOC-K on behalf of all national teams is heavily skewed towards Nike and needs review or cancellation."
“Some ministry officials misappropriated Sh88,611,480 meant for air-tickets while NOC-K has been misappropriating Nike contract funds and kits amounting to Sh126 million per year meant for athletes since 2013,” the report further revealed.
On Thursday, Tergat and Kioni said they have been out to restore the image of NOC-K, rebrand and regain confidence from the corporate world, hence the focus on solid preparations for the Tokyo Games.
