This archive report was first published on 16 November 2019.
President Uhuru Kenyatta's administration pledged to deliver seven state-of-the-art stadia across the country within a year before the 2017 general elections.
However, two years down the line, the picture is far from rosy, with the Wote Stadium in Makueni County being one of the facilities that have stalled.
Commissioned by Deputy President William Ruto on May 25, 2017, the project was expected to be completed within a short span of time, but it has been plagued by delays and inefficiencies.
According to Mwingi West MP Charles Ngusya, who is also a member of the Sports Committee in the National Assembly, the contractor awarded the tender has already been paid Sh89 million, while only 30 percent of the work has been done.
Ngusya stated that the leadership of Sports Kenya informed committee members that a further Sh174 million is needed to complete the work, which has been stalled for over two years.
Appearing before the committee, Sports CS Amina Mohammed revealed that the ministry was supposed to receive Sh2.7 billion to complete the stadia project but received a paltry Sh424 million during the 2016-2017 financial year and Sh25m instead of Sh100m allocated during the 2017-2018 financial year.
As the project drags on, many youths who were dreaming of a bright future after the completion of the facility have turned the heat on the Jubilee government for promising them a ghost stadium only for political mileage.
Area governor Prof Kivutha Kibwana has promised to build a stadium at Ngaakaa Talent Centre before he leaves office in 2022, in a bid to ease the situation.
