Sports CS has work cut out

Once again, the much-maligned Ministry of Sports, Culture and Heritage has a new Cabinet Secretary.

While the ejection of Rashid Echesa was hardly surprising and long overdue, given his extremely poor track record, the choice of his successor, Amina Mohammed, was unexpected.

Having held the Foreign Affairs and Education dockets, Ms Mohammed enters unfamiliar territory at a time the management of Kenyan sport is in dire straits and in need of radical surgery.

Inadequate funding, stalled upgrading of stadiums, favouritism in key appointments, nepotism and neglect of sporting heroes are some of the issues Ms Mohammed will have to deal with at the ministry’s Kencom House headquarters.

Mr Echesa left a huge mess that will take a gargantuan effort to overhaul, including the worrying delay in preparations for next year’s IAAF World Under-20 Championships, which Nairobi will host.

With the deadline for the appointment of the championships’ Local Organising Committee (LOC) set for October 15 last year by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), Mr Echesa only moved to make the appointments in yesterday’s Kenya Gazette, in his final act in office.

And even then, there has already been hue and cry over the composition of the newly-appointed LOC that overlooks some key, experienced professionals who helped deliver the 2017 IAAF World Under-18 Championships.

Ms Mohammed will have to hit the ground running and resolve myriad issues that have seen the ministry become a laughing stock.