SAM'S SENSE: Miracle stadiums, in darkness

Recently President William Ruto was in the North Eastern region. Among many other things, he was there to commission the construction of Wajir Stadium, at a cost of Ksh.900 million. The facility, the President said, should be ready in under four months, ready to host the Madaraka Day celebrations, the first of such in the region. Park that for a moment.

Let me tell you a story of the quest for stadiums. Kenyans love them. Even the ones they don’t have, they aspire to have. In the villages it is not unusual to find a dusty beaten patch being nicknamed Old Trafford. Or a sandy open grassland teeming with thorns and cactus being christened the Emirates, no pun intended. All because, Kenyans love good sporting facilities.

The election promise to build five stadiums by the so-called dynamic duo of Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto in 2013 excited a significant chunk of Kenyans. It was a promising, even thrilling list. They said they would, and I quote, “build five new national sports stadia in Kisumu, Mombasa, Nakuru, Eldoret and Garissa, while upgrading existing sporting facilities at the county level to accommodate swimming, tennis, basketball and rugby.” End of quote, and promise.

As Deputy President, William Ruto in 2017 improved the promise from five to nine stadiums, replete with timelines ranging from three to six months. But that is water under the stadium, rather, the bridge.

Talanta Stadium is up and on course and based on images shared, may well meet the expectations of many Kenyans. We will talk about the cost of Talanta some other day. Another day because there is a worrying dark side to the clear endeavors to construct stadiums around the country.

I begin this illustration in Kericho, the green stadium that hosted Mashujaa Day in 2023. It is now known as Kiprugut Chumo Stadium. The Auditor General reports that the refurbishment of that stadium cost Ksh.408 million. It started with a letter from the Internal Security Principal Secretary on July 19, 2023 to the Sports PS informing that the Mashujaa Day of that year would be hosted at the Kericho Green Stadium. The Director General of Sports Kenya had informed the Kericho Governor of the same on a day before. And refurbishment works were to commence.

But then, according to the auditor, the contract was awarded on September 4, 2023. By which time there had been engagements between the contractor and the procuring entity – Sports Kenya - as early as July 19, the day the PSs exchanged notes.

A day after the contract was signed, meaning the 5th of September, it was communicated that the contractor had achieved 50 per cent progress in the works, and therefore a part payment of Ksh.183.6 million was due.

The auditor noted that the works must have begun way before a contract was awarded. The auditor established that the contractor had issued a letter of acceptance on the 14th of August 2023, nearly three weeks before he was awarded the contract. Let that sink. You accept a job, before one has been offered, and you sign papers to confirm that.

There’s something more. The auditor found that the said contractor only registered with the regulator, the National Construction Authority on the 29th of July, ten days after the contractor had interacted with Sports Kenya and even submitted designs for Kericho Green Stadium. I know, the dates are already confusing.

It is simple. The construction of Kericho Green Stadium must have been a boardroom deal that was inconvenienced by the bureaucracy of procurement. The auditor stated that the management was in breach of the law and that the regularity of the expenditure could not be confirmed. 

Away from the green. The President has made a new promise, in the North. Wajir must have a new stadium for the 1st June Madaraka Day celebrations this year. That is in three months’ time. Unless you are a miracle architect, how can you put up long-lasting sporting infrastructure in three months?

And what is the rationale here? Are we proposing, adopting, contracting and implementing stadiums purely for national holidays?

Also, when the Kenya Defence Forces and the parent ministry are instructed to make it happen, at a cost of Ksh.900 million, how was the procurement process done?

Are we using the KDF to put up sporting infrastructure away from the sports departments to escape the rigorous accountability demands?

The President also promised another stadium in Mandera at a similar cost of Ksh.900million, which must be ready for the locals to celebrate Jamhuri day there, this December.

As we speak, the Kericho stadium running track is chipping. Infrastructure there is not up to standard. The Ithookwe stadium in Kitui that hosted Mashujaa Day last year after a marathon four-month construction is not yet complete - four months after the event. It’s been deserted. Why the rush in the first place? Where’s the value for money?

And as we build these essential pieces of sporting infrastructure, thousands of residents in host counties are starving or facing starvation as their livelihoods risk extinction by the harsh climatic conditions. For now, let us play, or pray, IN THREE MONTHS’ TIME.