Ministry of Sports has agreed to bail out the National Olympic Committee’s(NOCK) to a tune of Sh.400 million to save its headquarters from being auctioned over money 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.
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 Sh800 million.
Nock
Raila wants govt to stop Nock plaza auction https://t.co/REtLUnEQYJ pic.twitter.com/ucmXYAJdVB
— NTV Kenya (@ntvkenya) March 26, 2019
This announcement drew a lot of public concern, prompting opposition leader Raila Odinga to petition the government to intervene and stop the intended auction.