By Kimani wa Njuguna

A stranger would have been enthralled watching MPs shower praises on our sportsmen and women. This was after the gallant heroes and heroines emerged top in Africa and third in the world at the World Athletics Championship in Berlin last month.

The legislators seemed to have been carried away by the glory and honour brought by these Kenyans. This could explain why some of them recommended what to me appeared not only farfetched but also ridiculous.

I have in mind Imenti Central MP Gitobu Imanyara who suggested to the Executive to consider putting faces of our athletes on currency notes.

Anybody who knows how our politicians operate sees all that talk for what is: cheap rhetoric.

I am saying this because despite being in a position to enact laws to shield athletes from challenges that force them to seek citizenship of countries like USA, Qatar, Uganda and Bahrain, politicians just talk and leave it at that.

A lot has been said on how to motivate and spur young people in sports. I believe with proper policies, sports can be a big foreign exchange earner.

I don’t see why we cannot exploit talents in youngsters the way Brazil and most of Latin American countries have turned soccer talents into gold mines.

The greatest problem with leaders is that what does not benefit them politically and materially is never given serious consideration. Issues which are bread and butter to ordinary Kenyans are ignored.

A lot has been said on tapping talent. The need for a flexible curriculum to accommodate the abilities of learners and allow for skill development has been expressed so much that it is now a tired song.

If what I heard legislators say is anything to go by, then time is ripe for leaders to identify the place of talent and skill development in the education system.

It is also imperative that sport academies be established in every constituency.

Imagine having track academies in Rift Valley, soccer academies in Nyanza and Rift Valley, martial arts and indoors sports academies in Nairobi.

Or swimming academies in Coast, volleyball and racquet games centres in Eastern and Central and field events academies in Maasai land. With such academies, Joseph Nakaissery’s dream of clinching a gold medal in Jjavelin by a Maasai can be a reality.

This is because these academies will cater for various sporting talents.