Ministry comes to the aid of Nock

The ministry of Sports has agreed to bail out the National Olympic Committee’s to a tune of Sh400 million to save its headquarters from being auctioned over monies owed to Sidian Bank.

Nock officials met sports cabinet secretary Amina Mohammed and Principal Secretary Kirimi Kaberia on Wednesday last week after which a resolution was made to clear the debt from the now operational Sports and Social Development Fund.

Before the money is paid however, the ministry has placed certain conditions to be fulfilled by the Nock officials themselves, Sidian Bank and the contractors who have been working in the building so far.

“Yes we resolved to clear that debt because we are in agreement that the building is valuable and worth keeping. We have however asked for certain details from everyone involved before we release money.

“We want the bank involved to give full disclosure of the amounts they have received so far from Nock and the exact amounts that are outstanding.

“Also, we have asked for a report from the contractor to confirm that the building is still sound and that construction can continue as earlier planned.

“From Nock, we want them to tell us everything they know about the building so that we are sure about the building’s ownership, if there are any legal issues pending or if there is any case of continued responsibility,” PS Kaberia told Nation Sport.

The building in question is the Nock Plaza located in Upper Hill, Nairobi, which had been estimated to cost Sh1.2 billion with Sidian Bank being the main financier at Sh800million.

Nock were to remit the remaining Sh40 million, but they failed to do so on time, leading to the stalling of operations on the prime property whose construction began in 2014. And on March 18 this year, Sidian bank announced that the building would be up for auction this coming Friday.

This announcement drew a lot of public concern, prompting opposition leader Raila Odinga to petition the government to intervene and stop the intended auction.

“I appeal to the Ministry of Sports to take hold of the Nock plaza and put a caveat on its intended auction until all options are explored and a solution that is in the best interest of the bank, tax payers, the sports fraternity and the nation is arrived at,” said Odinga in a press statement last week.