This archive report was first published on 11 June 2020.
On Thursday, June 11, 2020, National Treasury and Planning Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yattani tabled the 2020-2021 national budget before parliament, proposing a significant increase in the allocation to the Sports, Arts and Social Development Fund.
The proposed allocation of Sh14bn is a substantial increase from the Sh5.3bn handed to the Fund in last year's budget, and is expected to have a positive impact on the country's economic development.
According to Yattani, the allocation will support the sector's contribution to job creation for the youth and foreign exchange generation. He stated, 'Sports, Culture and Arts contribute immensely to our economic development by boosting job creation for our youth and generating foreign exchange. To support this sector, I propose allocation of 14bn to Sports Arts and Social Development Fund.'
The increased allocation is expected to benefit various projects, including the renovation of more than nine stadia, the hosting of the Safari Rally and the World Under-20 Athletics Championship, and the expansion of the Nairobi testing Laboratory to deal with the doping menace.
With the increased allocation, most of the pending works in several stadia, including Kip Keino in Eldoret, Mombasa, and the Jomo Kenyatta Sports Ground in Kisumu, are set to be completed.
