Vihiga clubs in the dark of county sports kitty
Vihiga-based
sports teams have decried being kept in the dark over the utilization of the
County Sports Fund with many of them writhing in financial turmoil.
The financial
struggles have seen many of them dish walkovers in the various leagues they
play in as they cannot sustain their operations.
The
much-hyped Vihiga County Sports Fund whose funding was increased to the tune of
Ksh. 60 million last year was supposed to cushion teams from such an ordeal but
unfortunately has morphed into a white elephant as none of the teams has
benefitted from it so far.
Speaking to
Citizen Digital Women’s Premier League side Bunyore Starlets team manager Zachariah
Amakanga said they are yet to receive any financial aid from the kitty.
“We have not
received a penny this year. Last we did get something from the fund that helped
us honor our league fixtures.
Kenya
Women Premier League champions-elect Vihiga Queens tactician Bonface Nyamunyamu
says they have received funds from the kitty once since last year.
His sentiments were
echoed by Tong IL Moo Do trainer Robinson Murundo Muronji who
acknowledged receipt of the money only once since the program was launched.
“We received
money when the program was launched last year but so far we have not seen a
penny from the kitty this year.
“We have
engaged all relevant stakeholders all but in vain,” he confirmed.
Muronji
further revealed that he had received confirmation from the county sports
minister Felistus Barasa that the kitty had committed Ksh. 200,000 to support martial
arts but to his surprise, only a half of the amount was reimbursed.
She said that
the kitty was depleted a while ago and that they are waiting for the Vihiga
county assembly to approve the supplementary budget that will help restock it.
Vihiga county
accountant Philip Gavina reveals that they are yet to welcome reimbursements
for the last quarter of the financial year.
“We haven’t received the last disbursement of
the funds and teams haven’t got the required support for the last four months
as a result” explains Gavina.
The apparent
unwillingness by county officials to shed light on this issue has raised
questions about the criteria used by the committee to allocate funds to the
respective clubs and the nagging delay in the reimbursement of the required
funds raises alarm about the lack of accountability on the utilization of the
kitty.
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