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The National Assembly Committee on Sports Culture and Heritage has resolved to hold a retreat to discuss crucial details touching on the financial expenditure of the Sports Fund as the National Assembly goes into a two-week recess.

During a meeting with Sports CS Amina Mohamed yesterday, the committee opted against not interrogating the CS on the usage and allocation of the Fund as was expected.    

According to the documents tabled before the committee, Sh17.1 billion of the Fund was spent to fund programmes while projects received of Sh5.2 billion.

As at June 2021, the Fund held a balance of Sh2.1 billion in its account. The documents show that Sports Fund had received several funding requests from Kenya Academy of Sports to cater for, among other items, payment of pending bills and conducting feasibility studies for the construction of constituencies academies.

Fifa ban

The committee had put the ministry on the spot over the distribution of revenue from the fund under its current formula. 

In its report to the Budget and Appropriations Committee, the Sports committee projects that the Sports Fund would collect Sh15 billion during the 2022/23 financial year.

According to the committee, the Sports Fund board had failed to establish the basis for approving the ceiling for funding of sports, arts and social development. 

The committee added that failure to provide exact percentages on the appropriations leaves room for the abuse of the fund, the committee said.

The Sports ministry says that the Fund has collected Sh31.9 billion since its inception.

Meanwhile, the CS has termed the suspension by Fifa as a blessing in disguise.

The ban, the CS said, comes at a time when her ministry is in the process of streamlining football sport in the country after the disbandment of Football Kenya Federation.

The chairman of the committee, Mavoko MP Patrick Maku, had asked the CS to explain the measures it had taken after the ban by Fifa.

“We understand Fifa is a sovereign football body and its decisions should be respected and we affirm our utmost respect to their governance systems. However, most sports operations are supported by Sports Fund which is majorly taxpayers’ money,” Amina said.

The CS said that Fifa should allow the government to tame financial impropriety by the federations in a bid to ensure prudent use of resources allocated to them especially during major competitions like Afcon, World Cup qualifiers among others.

Amina said that the ban only prohibits Kenya from international tournaments and therefore local championships are still on course.

“Kenya is not scheduled to participate in any international football sport in the next two years which will give us time to address all the issues that Fifa raised,” Amina said

The caretaker committee appointed by the CS to manage football affairs is in the process of preparing a constitution which will be submitted to FIFA within two months.

“The caretaker committee is preparing a new constitution which will then be taken to all stakeholders before it is forwarded to Fifa,” the CS told the committee 

World football governing body, Fifa, suspended Kenya from participating in all international football competitions last month.

FIFA cited government interference as it handed Kenya the indefinite ban.

The Sports ministry disbanded the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) over alleged misappropriation of funds when it appointed a caretaker committee in November last year.

“We would also want to be involved in the drafting of the new constitution being the committee that oversees your ministry,” Webuye West MP Dan Wanyama.

The CS told the committee that the majority of the federations that govern various sports in the country do not comply with the Sports Act.

“These federations don’t hold elections and never account for the funds that they operate with. This is negatively affecting the development of sports,” Amina noted.