B. OsanoGovernment sets aside Sh3 billion to aid fight doping after Seb Coe reads riot act
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Reading Time: 2min | Thu. 05.01.23. | 16:44
Kenya narrowly avoided sanction by the World Athletics late last year for the increasing number of doping cases.
The government has set aside Sh3 billion to aid in the fight against the doping menace. Kenya, home to world beaters in Athletics, is grappling with burgeoning cases of athletes taking prohibited performance-enhancement drugs with far-reaching reputational damage to the country.
President William Ruto made the pledge after meeting the President of the World Athletics Sebastian Coe at State House, Nairobi on Thursday. In attendance was the Cabinet Secretary for Sports Hon Ababu Namwamba and a host of Athletics Kenya (AK) honchos.
Lord Coe promised to support Kenya in the fight, saying that his leadership was all about bringing integrity to international athletics."We will work closely with the govt. of Kenya to provide every help needed to see that we eradicate cheating from our athletics," added Lord Coe pic.twitter.com/69zKelSOw4
— Ministry Of Youth Affairs, Sports & The Arts (@moscakenya) January 4, 2023
"Kenya will not spare any efforts in the fight against doping," a statement from the State House reads.
President Ruto said the Government will go an extra mile in protecting the integrity of athletics. He announced that the Government has set aside Sh3 billion to help in the fight against doping for the next five years. They pledged to work together in creating the right frameworks for athletes to succeed.
“We will collaborate with partners, sportsmen and their contacts to tackle doping that threatens our heritage,” said President Ruto.
Kenya avoided sanction by the World Athletics late last year for the increasing number of doping cases in the country. This was after the government moved to increase anti-doping funding with an allocation of Sh619 million annually for the next five years.
Coe, who was impressed by the step the government took, said that the funding would help increase the number of tests, investigations besides bolstering the already Addressing a conference after the World Athletics Council meeting in Rome, Italy in December Coe said that its arm of integrity, Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), will now work closely with Kenya to implement the next phase of the war against doping.
"The Kenyan federation and government feel this (doping) has been a disfiguring period in what should have been a Herculean period for Kenyan athletics," Coe said after a World Athletics Council meeting in Rome."
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