Sigh of relief: Echesa promises to push through welfare deal for retired athletes

Retiring sportsmen and women have something to smile about after the Ministry of Sports announced plans to formalise a welfare system under the Sports Fund. Cabinet Secretary, Rashid Achesa said despite the glory, wealth and prestige the athletes bring to the country, they end up living a life of misery and poverty after upon retirement.

Speaking during the annual Sports Personality of the Year Awards at Fort Jesus, Mombasa County, Achesa said: “My ministry has noted with great concern that despite the glory, wealth and prestige our sportsmen and women have continued to bring to our country, many still end up retiring to a life of misery and poverty.’

“Sometimes they have to rely upon well-wishers to treat injuries incurred while serving the nation. This brings shame to us as a nation.”

He added: “My ministry is currently working on ways and means to formalise a welfare system for our sporting retirees and will look at the possibility of partly utilising the Sports Fund for this purpose.”

At the same time, Achesa noted that doping is a growing challenge to the long standing reputation of being good competitors who win clean. “I am pleased to announce that in 2018, Kenya opened the first World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) approved laboratory in Nairobi that will facilitate faster, efficient and tamper-proof testing of our sportsmen and women. This will go a long way in resolving the problem of doping in Kenya,” he added. He also revisited the issue of double taxation of sportsmen and women whenever they compete internationally. “The ministry is currently collaborating with the Kenya Revenue Authority to resolve the problem of double taxation and a solution will be announced shortly,” he noted.

He cited lobbying for the country to host the World Rally Circuit round in April and being awarded the rights to host the 2020 IAAF World U-20 athletics Championships as some of the achievements his ministry had attained recently.

He said: “These achievements have not been without challenges or faults. There are areas where effort, teamwork, funding, better planning and collaboration could have yielded better results.”