“I was there when the pledge was made by Deputy President William Ruto at Kasarani Stadium. At the time, it looked like a political statement but we are asking the government to honour the pledge immediately.
sports, culture and tourism committee chair Victor Munyaka was precise when he reminded Deputy President William Ruto through the Ministry of Sports to honour its promise of Sh50 million to national team, Harambee Stars.
Mr Munyaka said the gesture was a performance-based pledge and should be honoured since the national team attained the feat by qualifying to Afcon finals that run on June 21 to July 19 in Egypt.
The Kenya tem has qualified for this year’s Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) finals.
“This is to avoid any backlash that may come up as a result of non-payment. The players deserve it and they should be paid,” he told Sports Principal Secretary Peter Kaberia.
Kaberia and some top Sports Ministry officials appeared before the committee to discuss the ministry’s budget estimates.
The Principal Secretary had told the committee that the Sh50 million pledge was part of the Sh244 million set aside for Harambee Stars preparations and participation in the tournament.
But Munyaka said the money should be separated from the team’s budget for the tournament.
Kaberia acknowledged that the money should not be included in the tournament’s budget. Harambee Stars will play their last qualifier match against Ghana early next month away.
Both Ghana and Kenya have already qualified for the final tournament and the match will be used to decide the group winners.