By Mercy Imali
Deputy President William Ruto has ‘promised’ that the Jubilee government will deliver on the 11 stadiums. Ruto assured Kenyans that they will have 11 new stadiums by the end of the first quarter of next year. This is despite Jubilee failure to build the stadiums in the six years it has been in power. The stadiums were part of Jubilee’s campaign promise. They were to be built in Kisumu, Eldoret, Mombasa, Garissa and Nakuru.
Ruto clarified, “Our commitment to deliver on the stadia is solid. We had a time frame. Of course unfortunately as fate would have it, we went into a second election and spent about Ksh13 billion part of which was supposed to be deployed to do some of those things.”
The Deputy President explained ‘the delay’ on Anne Kiguta’s show, ‘Punchline.
“These stadia and you can confirm with the Ministry of Sports will be completed either by the end of this year or the first quarter of next year. All the 11 stadia including the refurbishment of Nyayo stadium,” said Ruto.
This is a stack contradiction to Sports Principal Secretary, Kirimi Kaberia. In February, Kaberia said the government will not be able to build the five stadiums initially promised, but is working to ensure one state-of-art stadium is built before the end of President Kenyatta’s term in 2022.
“That is very realistic. When I tell you about the 11, I am realistic,” Ruto insisted.