The government of Kenya has launched a new cash prize program that offers Sh5 million for breaking a world record and Faith Kipyegon and Kelvin Kiptum are the first recipients of the program.
On Wednesday, Ababu Namwamba, the Cabinet Secretary for Sports told the Senate’s full chamber that the government has dramatically increased winners’ payouts for Sh3 million, Sh2 million, and Sh1 million for gold, silver, and bronze, respectively.
The Cabinet Secretary informed the senators that the Hongera Awards were also introduced, and among other firsts, legends dating back to the 1960s were honored. In addition, Sh25 million in cash award arrears dating back 11 years were also resolved.
Namwamba pointed out that over the previous five years, betting operations generated Sh48.2 billion in money for the Sports, Arts, and Social Development Fund, which also distributed Sh41.7 billion to other sectors during that time. According to him, the sports sector received 65% of the payments, social development received 30%, and the arts and culture sector received 5%.
Namwamba said, “In the last Financial Year, 2022/2023 the fund realized revenues of Sh10.4 billion, the Oversight Board approved the disbursement of Sh7.9 billion to various sectors: Sh6.3 billion to the sports sector Sh1.2 billion to the social development sector, and Sh324 million to culture and the arts sector”.
He stated that athletes were invited to the public trials, which were held at Nyayo National Stadium on July 7 and 8, based on their compliance with anti-doping testing requirements, meeting the entry standards for the Budapest 2023 World Athletics Championships, and being top finishers in the National Championships 2023.
All invited athletes, including those with wild cards, were required to compete in order to be considered for selection, according to Namwamba, who was responding to a question from Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei. All invited athletes were also required to sign a commitment form to show their commitment to the national team.
The CS informed the Senate that all athletes invited to the trials were required to bring their passports and that following the trials, accommodations were made for all selected athletes to meet the administrative and documentation requirements.
“Once selected, athletes were expected to adhere to the rules and regulations outlined for the national team camp, athletes participating in the trials were personally responsible for collecting their own bib numbers at Nyayo Stadium on Thursday, July 6, 2023, between 9:00 am and 6:00 pm,” he said.
He explained to the House that the first two competitors to cross the finish line were chosen automatically provided they met the World Athletics Entry Standards. Athletes who wanted to compete in multiple events were welcome to do so, but the selection panel had the final say on whether or not they could compete in both events at the world championships.
Namwamba stated that the selection panel had the power to choose the third athlete in the events mentioned with wild card athletes, who are given the opportunity to compete in sports competitions without having to pass through qualifying rounds or achieve a certain ranking required to compete in the trials.