Murkomen has his work cut out in sports docket

During his vetting in Parliament, Sports Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen was able to articulate issues well in the highly potential, but largely neglected sector.

And as he settles at Talanta Plaza, the new Sports CS must walk the talk. He is taking over the docket when the world's biggest sporting event is underway in Paris, France. So far, Kenya has won five medals only including one gold.

Many Kenyans want several changes made in future global events to win more medals. One of the first assignments Mr Murkomen should handle, is a review of various sports policies to benefit athletes and improve on performance.

His promise on tackling federation officials who have overstayed in office without conducting elections, should be a priority.

Our football has had numerous court cases to the detriment of the game and Murkomen must ensure that the beautiful game is played more in the stadiums than courtrooms.

All errant officials should be punished and the interests of players put first. In the past, we have seen many Sports CSs take over office and promise heaven on the first day, only to forget all that after few days.

It is good that Murkomen understands sports and he is a footballer himself, although he has not played at a higher level. This means that the sports fraternity has high hopes in him and he should not disappoint them.

First off, he should understand that our players need to be paid well and get their allowances on time to perform well.

To achieve this he needs to ensure that federation officials account for all the funds they receive and put the athletes first.

Most federations have no sponsors for their leagues and the Football Kenya Federation-Premier League champions or the Kenya Volleyball Federation league champions for example, are getting peanuts for winning the league titles.

There is no way these players will have the morale to represent us well outside the country if they are not getting incentives at home. CS Murkomen must hit the ground running, instill integrity in all federations to attract corporate sponsors.

He has to crack the whip on the federations for our sportsmen and women to enjoy the fruits of their sweat.

Sports infrastructure is also wanting. CS Murkomen must be different from the past CSs like he promised to and make everything work for our sports stars.

They need sound training facilities and should not be paying exorbitant fees in private facilities to train. The CS has his work cut out. Make Kenyan sports pay well and our players proud to wear the Kenyan jersey on the global stage.