Cabinet Secretary in the Ministry of Youth Affairs, sports and the Art, Ababu Namwamba, visited the Lorna Kiplagat, High Altitude Training Camp (HATC) in Iten, Elgeyo Marakwet County. During his visit to the county, he sought to understand the welfare of athletes and their training environment. The visit took place on the evening of Saturday, August 5, 2023.
The County’s Governor, Wisley Rotich, received the cabinet secretary of the Ministry of Sports warmly for his visit. While addressing the athletes in camp in preparation for various athletics engagements, the CS reiterated that the athletes were Kenya’s biggest branding assets that deserved to be cared for and protected with jealousy, terming them the goose that laid the golden egg.
“As you have heard me repeatedly say, Kenya’s number one export to the world is not tea or coffee but you, our athletes. You are the people who market Kenya in the best way one can ever imagine. You are a premium resource we must take care of and protect jealously,” he quipped.
He added that his Ministry was committed to protecting this premium resource from their training environment and against the terrible culture of doping and cheating. “Kenya has established a very proud pedigree and heritage of competing and winning clean,” he remarked.
“Our greatest athletes, from the late Wilson Kiprugut, who won us our first Olympic medal, to the great Kipchoge Keino, have shown us that you can compete and win cleanly. You must train, eat, and be disciplined to perform well because Kenya is a Hotbed of talents.”
Cabinet Secretary Ababu Namwamba thanked Governor Rotich for supporting various athletes visiting the county to exploit its high altitude to prepare for races. He assured him that his Ministry would continue cooperating with his County government to promote Sports and Creative Arts.
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