Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Sports, Hassan Wario, is a funny man.

As a matter of fact, we should be laughing at his jokes, only that they are not funny and he can make more sense when he keeps his mouth shut.

This past week has been eventful for sports in Kenya and some of the things that transpired should make us cry because they are downright odd, if not tragic, for a country whose sports administrators and national leadership live in their own echo chambers.

There was the good news that Paul Tergat wants to be the change that the National Olympic Committee of Kenya needs and we were all excited until it emerged that Kipchoge Keino wants to defend his seat. What cheek.

Before we could digest that, the Presidency decided to think with its fingers and announced on Twitter that three stadiums out of the five that were promised in 2013 will be constructed!

That should be ignored because it is tantamount to taking our sensibilities for a ride with 140 characters.

Doping saga

The saddest news could have been the Jemimah Sumgong doping saga, which we all feigned surprise over, but then we were informed that the Pay TV channel, SuperSport had pulled the plug on live broadcast of Kenyan Premier League matches. We all moaned, weakly.

Earlier in the week, Wario was ranting like someone who cannot manage his expectations and emotions.

The Sports Cabinet secretary was furious that betting firms were miffed after they were told to pay higher taxes yet they have been sponsoring national teams and football clubs.

In his outburst, he said that local sports teams would not lose anything if the firms withdraw their sponsorship since the Government is able, and willing, to sponsor all local leagues through his ministry.

“You are making billions of shillings and throwing a little money around... if you are going to sponsor sports, come to the ministry so that we know how much you are giving against the amount you made.

We will give you certification...” he foamed at the mouth.

I hold no brief for betting firms, but a more unfortunate statement has never been made by a sports minister, even in the most despotic and failing nations.

“We have to centralise the purse from which sports is funded...they should instead support the move if they are genuine in funding sports,” the CS said.

I spent a better part of the week trying to understand his statements by talking to seasoned sports administrators and journalists, while researching on best practises around the world, and I discovered that Wario is taking refuge behind these firms because his ministry has failed to establish the National Sports Fund or such like body as had been suggested.

Ideally, a national sports lottery was supposed to fund sports teams — so that firms do not “throw little money around” and then shout the loudest as Wario implied.

Wario’s statement that Government is the biggest sponsor of sports is a blatant lie because there are football clubs which had no (shirt) sponsors for whole seasons and the Government did not come to their rescue even when they were going for continental championships and were short of funds.

Self-finance

Wario should know (and this I was told by one of the best sports management brains in Africa) of the saying in sports management circles that “no Government serious about sports spends a shilling on sports” because the Government should put mechanisms and legislation in place to allow sports to self-finance.

One of the main reasons for the Sports Act was to create a National Sports Fund and do away with sports dependence on The National Treasury.

That flies in the face of Wario’s assertion that the Government is ready to sponsor leagues and clubs.

“Wario is simply negating the gains of the Act and taking us back to square one where sports federations and teams line up at the ministry with begging bowls,” a seasoned sports management don remarked.

“These firms have managed to garner revenue from sports, something which the Government failed to do, and instead of the Government borrowing a leaf from them, it is taking an easy way out by siphoning income from them and that is just daylight robbery.”

For Wario to ask these private companies to channel sponsorships through the ministry is silly, for lack of a worse term.

The writer is an editor with the Weekend editions of Standard.