Metto appointed new Sports Kenya Director

PS unveils new man at helm of Sports Kenya even as plans are afoot to ensure it plays role in Big Four Agenda.

Pius Metto, a newcomer at the sports scene, has been appointed the new Director General at Sports Kenya.

Metto, a former National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) manager, takes over on a three year contract and will be tasked with turning around a parastatal that has been moribund since it was established after implementation of the Sports Act 2013.

Yesterday, Sports Principal Secretary Peter Kaberia made a brief introduction of Metto and said his experience will help turn around the institution.

“He has over 25 year experience in the public service and this will be crucial in providing leadership at Sports Kenya,” he said.

But insiders say the Sports Kenya board overlooked Gordon Oluoch, who served as a long serving Sports Commissioner in the appointment. Oluoch had held the position in acting capacity for almost two years before he was appointed Chief Executive Officer at the Kenya Academy of Sports (KAS).

In an interview, Kaberia said the highly awaited sports fund will be operational in the next few weeks.

“The board is in place and they have held a number of meetings. We are now finalising on the final stages of it becoming operational and should start distributing funds in the next few weeks.

“We hope the fund will help us to manage sports in a more effective way and end the perennial complaints about lack of funds,” he said.

He also weighed in on the stand-off at the national sevens team where elite players have boycotted playing in the national team due to differences in contractual obligations.

“Rugby is an important discipline in our ministry and we are concerned about what is going on with the sevens team. We have opened negotiations with the Union to see how best to resolve the stand-off with players.”

Kaberia also promised that they have finalised work on a plan that will ensure national team Harambee Stars coach Sebastian Migne’s salary is paid on time.

“The salary delays will now be a thing of the past. From now on the coach will be receiving his salary on time,” he said.

Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) Chief Executive Japhter Rugut said they are concerned about the increased cases of doping but believes that increased awareness and testing will help resolve the problem.

“The truth is that we are not able to do more tests than we were able three years ago. This has expanded the possibility of catching them up," he said.