Inside Harambee Stars’ Sh244 Million budget for the Afcon

As a country, we need to applaud Harambee Stars for their achievement into Afcon finals. Kenya will face Ghana in their final Group F match in March. Harambee Stars booked a place into the Afcon final for the first time since 2004. The Ministry of Sports has been told to pay Harambee Stars the Sh50 million pledge made by Deputy President William Ruto. In October 2018, Ruto pledged to reward the Stars players if they qualified for the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations when he paid the team a visit at the Kasarani stadium in the build-up to the qualifying match against Ghana.

Four months down the line and with Stars already assured of a place in the Afcon finals, the DP is yet to honor his words. This has forced the Parliament to jump into the matter.  The parliamentary committee- Sports, Culture and Tourism chairman Victor Munyaka told the told Sports Principal Secretary Peter Kaberia to ensure that the promise by the DP is honored.

“The players deserve it and they should be paid,” Munyaka told Kaberia who appeared before the committee to discuss the ministry’s budget estimates.But Kaberia reiterated an earlier statement by the Football Kenya Federation President Nick Mwendwa that the money has been released and will be part of the Harambee Stars’ Sh244 million budget for the Afcon preparations.

 “The Sh50 million will be released once Sports Fund becomes operational. It is part of the Sh244 million budget approved by the Ministry and once we get it, then we will take the Sh50 million and pay the players. Even though what is remaining is not enough to prepare the team because we want to have a two week camp in France then another camp in Egypt before the tournament kicks-off in June,” said  Mwendwa.