This archive report was first published on 12 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 Sh14bn allocation is a substantial increase from the Sh5.3bn handed to the Fund in the previous year's budget.
According to Yattani, the allocation will support the sector's contribution to economic development, including job creation for the youth and foreign exchange generation.
"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," Yattani said.
The increased allocation will be a significant boost to the Ministry's task of renovating more than nine stadia, as well as hosting the Safari Rally and the World Under-20 Athletics Championship.
The Ministry has used money from the Sports Fund to finance the renovation of the Nyayo National Stadium and other sporting facilities in the country, including the Kenya Academy of Sports at Kasarani.
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.
