Amina sacks Kamariny contractor, fires another salvo at Kip Keino Stadium works
Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed (second left) accompanied by Elgeyo Marakwet County Governor Alex Tolgos (right) and other officials addresses the press after assessing the construction of Kamariny Stadium in Iten, Elgeyo Marakwet County on January 26, 2021.
The government has ejected the contractor hired to renovate Iten’s Kamariny Stadium and also given yet another ultimatum for the completion of works at Eldoret’s Kipchoge Keino Stadium.
In a whirlwind tour of Uasin Gishu and Elgeyo Marakwet counties yesterday, Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed told Shiv Construction Company, in charge of principal works at the Kipchoge Keino Stadium, to shape up or ship out.
In the company of Uasin Gishu Governor Jackson Mandago, Amina gave Shiv Construction Company – represented by Anil Dhanji Sutar - until April to complete the work so that the stadium is ready to host the national trials for the Tokyo Olympic Games.
The CS said she was concerned that this was her third visit to the site with nothing to show in progress.
“I have been to this project three times and you are still at the same spot which is discouraging. If you know that you won’t continue, you should hand over back the project so that we can bring in another contractor,” lamented Amina, who gave the contractor until close of business yesterday to reaffirm whether or not he was prepared to meet the April deadline.
The CS ordered that the construction works go ahead while at the same time allowing athletes an opportunity to train on the synthetic track as they prepared for various engagements, principally the Olympic Games trials.
“Our athletes will continue training at the facility and we hope by the end of April, the facility will be ready for use because the Olympics Games trials shall be held here and athletes need to use it for more than three months,” said Amina who was also accompanied by Sports Kenya director general Pius Metto and officials from a task force monitoring stadium works countryside, among them Barnabas Korir and Ceasar Handa.
Also present were officials from the Presidential Delivery Unit.
At Elgeyo Marakwet, Funan Contractors, who have been handling the Kamariny Stadium ran out of luck as Amina, in the company of Elgeyo Marakwet Governor Alex Tolgos, announced their contract had been terminated and that a new contractor would be sought.
"We are giving the construction of this stadium a new lease of life today. We have ordered a change of construction company and an elaborate agreement which will see the facility delivered to the county in time will be worked on so that athletes can have something to smile about," the CS said.
Amina said the delays at Kamariny were giving the country's “home of champion” a bad name when it should be comfortably hosting local and international athletes who flock the Elgeyo Marakwet capital Iten for high altitude training.
"This was never intended to be a white elephant; it was never intended to stall as it has right now. We, therefore, officially terminate the current contract and due process shall be followed as soon as possible," she declared.
Southern terraces
In Eldoret, Shiv Construction Company has been tasked with upgrading the Kipchoge Keino Stadium’s VIP pavilion which is planned to house three floors, changing rooms and conference rooms.
Another company, Golbo Construction Company, which is one month old at the site, has been tasked with construction of the Northern and Southern terraces.
Golbo, represented yesterday by project manager Alex Muchiri, has also been charged with the levelling of the grounds, parking lot and finishing up the Eastern wing which was 90 percent complete when the initial contractor left the site.
Governor Mandago asked the contractor to speed up the stadium works, saying he had embarrassed the county.
“42 million Kenyans are waiting for this project to be complete and you can’t be here giving out excuses. I will make sure my officers visit the site everyday so that we can see the progress and if it will be hard for you, then we have other people who can do it better,” Mandago warned.
Fielding questions from journalists, Amina said funds for Kenya’s preparations for the Tokyo Olympics are ready and that she will be seeking final approval from Cabinet before they are disbursed.
“We want to get everything right this time round and we shall equip all the teams before they head to Tokyo for the Games where they will have all their ceremonial clothes with them and all their allowances paid on time.
“I have the budget ready and I will be presenting it to the Cabinet for approval and so there is no cause for alarm as we also look on how to bag more medals,” added the CS.
Concerning Kenya’s bid to host the 2025 World Athletics Championships, Amina said Nairobi is in a good position especially after having successfully hosted the World Under-18 Championships in 2017, and also with the World Under-20 Championships coming up at Kasarani in August.
“We have shown our capability. In 2017, we managed to host World Under-18 Championships and in August we shall be also hosting the World Under-20 Championships and that should give us more chances in future,” said Amina.
The CS later toured the Iten Athletics Training Camp where she interacted with elite athletes before handing them a goat for dinner along with cash which she said was one way of appreciating their good performance.
