SPEECH BY HIS EXCELLENCY HON. MWAI KIBAKI, C.G.H., M.P., PRESIDENT AND COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF THE ARMED FORCES OF THE REPUBLIC OF KENYA DURING THE RECEIVING OF THE NATIONAL FLAG OF THE KENYAN TEAM TO THE AFRICAN ATHLETIC CHAMPIONSHIPS AND THE 11TH WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS AT STATE HOUSE, NAIROBI ON 24TH AUGUST, 2006

Distinguished Young Athletes,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It gives me great pleasure to welcome home these distinguished athletes before me and to congratulate all the medal winners for your remarkable performance in the 2006 African Athletics Championships and the 11th World Junior Championships. It is most gratifying that both teams performed exceedingly well. The World Junior Championships team emerged number one in a world championship involving 188 countries. In addition, the African Athletics Championships team took the second position.

I am particularly encouraged to note that the World Junior Championships team set a number of new championship records. They have won six gold, six silver and three bronze medals, and reclaimed the World Junior title, which we last won in the year 2000 in Santiago, Chile. Your sterling performance is evidence that Kenya is not about to relinquish its athletics supremacy. Indeed, we commend you all for raising Kenya’s flag high in China and Mauritius. We are all very pleased and proud of you.

I am aware that these championships were highly competitive and your success was the result of rigorous training, discipline and firm resolve to succeed. I urge you to uphold this same commitment as you look forward to other championships in the future. Indeed, your individual and collective victory is the beginning of what we are confident will be great careers in the years ahead. As you rejoice because of your remarkable performance in the two championships, you should not lose sight of the challenges that lie ahead as you embark on your future careers.

Athletics is a highly competitive sport that has no room for laxity. Only those who maintain strict discipline, hard work and determination can curve a successful athletics career for themselves. Accordingly, the choices you make at this early age will determine the career paths you will follow.

On our part, as Government, we will do everything within our ability to promote the sports industry and to nurture the sporting talents of our young people. Indeed, I take this opportunity to challenge the Ministry of Sports to come up with a Monitoring and Mentoring Programme that will ensure that our young athletes remain competitive for a long period of time. The programme should also include proper incentives for the athletes and training facilities that will ensure that Kenya remains competitive on the world athletics arena.

I am aware that our youth today are participating well in sports. However, I want to encourage you not to use sports as a source of entertainment, but also as a serious career. Sports personalities are among the biggest income earners in the world today. My government has therefore initiated a wide range of measures to develop the sports industry and to encourage the youth to participate in sports activities. As part of this commitment, we have begun to present generous cash awards to our best athletes.

Early this year, we presented cash awards to our athletes who won various medals during the 18th Commonwealth Games that were held in Melbourne. My Government will continue to reward best performers not only as a way of expressing gratitude for doing our country proud, but also as a way of motivating our athletes and making sports popular among the youth.

We do recognize that the resources needed to develop sports in the country exceed what the government is able to provide through annual budgetary provisions. We must therefore continue to search for innovative ways of raising more funds for the development of this important sector. Indeed, it is for this reason that I recently instructed my Minister in charge of sports to put in place a national Sports Lottery to harness resources, which will be put into the promotion and development of sports.

It is also in this same spirit that my Government continues to appeal to corporate firms to offer awards to excelling athletes and other forms of support to the sports industry. This is the motivation and support that must be provided in order to encourage good performance in the various sports that we have in our country, if we want to be a truly great sporting nation.

In addition to rewards, my Government has initiated other measures aimed at ensuring that the sports industry is run in a professional manner in order to make it more profitable and attractive. In this respect, measures are underway to ensure proper rehabilitation and maintenance of sports facilities across the country. Further, measures are on-going to develop a legal and policy framework that will provide direction in the management of sports in the country. I wish to assure Kenyans that my Government will support all endeavors geared towards promoting sports.

In conclusion, I challenge the youth to take advantage of these efforts and view sports as a profitable career. Nearly 40 years ago, our local hero Kipchoge Keino began a journey on the track to build Kenya’s image in the world of athletics. That journey continues today, and you, the youth of Kenya are the modern day heroes that are labouring tirelessly to build a great name for our country in sports and other fields. I congratulate you all, and urge you to continue in this spirit as we all strive to make Kenya a wonderful place for all of us to live in.

Thank you and God bless you all.