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SPEECH BY H.E.HON.UHURU.KENYATTA, C.G.H.

, PRESIDENT AND COMMANDER- INCHIEF OF THE DEFENCE FORCES OF THE REPUBLIC OF KENYA DURING THE CHAIRMANS PRIZE TOURNAMENT 2013, NYERI GOLF CLUB, 18TH MAY 2013 Ladies and Gentlemen, I am pleased to join you all at this years Chairmans Prize Tournament. I take this early opportunity to congratulate all the players for a sterling performance. I note with pride and appreciation that this tournament has been running annually since 1929. This easily makes the tournament one of the longest running sports championships in the country. I thank all the officials past and present - who have made this event one of the sporting legacies in Kenya. I am indeed happy to be associated with a club of such great historical significance. I say this because this is not the first Chairmans prize tournament that am attending at this club. Indeed, I was here last year and the year before, when I witnessed some great golf played by our fellow Kenyans. Ladies and Gentlemen, Although this tournament has been held in Nyeri which has been a Provincial town for decades, the tournament itself has been national in stature, attracting some of the best golfers in the country. It is encouraging to note that a total of 212 golfers participated in the tournament. This is a remarkable number of participants and a clear indication that the game of golf is expanding in the country. I call on those in charge of the game of golf in Nyeri, and the country at large, to ensure that structures are in place to promote the further growth of the sport in the country. Indeed, I wish to call upon sports managers in the country to put measures in place with a view to ensuring that our reputation in athletics is replicated in other sporting disciplines. In particular, there is urgent need for us to streamline the management of football which is the most popular sport in the country. We must improve the standards of soccer in the country so that our football teams can excel in the region, in the continent and beyond. We need also to get our people to enjoy football made in Kenya rather than just watching the English league. Similarly, we should raise the standards of other sports including reclaiming our lost glory in boxing. We should also provide additional support to our national rugby team that is making good gains internationally. As we do this, we must not lose sight of the need to encourage and motivate our athletes in order to sustain our reputation as the home of the worlds best athletes. As we seek to promote sports in the country, we must bear in mind that golf, and indeed other sports disciplines, are no longer mere social events for recreation and entertainment. Today, sports are a major source of income and are employing thousands of people worldwide. We are, therefore, seeking to build a vibrant sports industry in which our young people can earn a decent living.

Indeed, players who excel in various sports are some of the best paid professionals whom you will find anywhere in the world. For this reason, and as we do our part as Government, I call on our people, and particularly the youth, to embrace the game of golf - and indeed other sports of interest to them - both as a means of maintaining fitness and good health as well as a source of income. Ladies and Gentlemen, You will all recall that in the run-up to the last General Election, my team made some pledges to Kenyans. In the area of sports, we made key pledges, among them being the development of five modern medium-size stadia in selected regional headquarters in the country. I wish to reiterate here that my Government is fully committed to fulfilling this and other pledges we made to Kenyans. Towards this end, and as regards sports, we are already in the process of finding ways and means of improving the general sports infrastructure in the country. We will do this in the full realization that excellence in sports cannot be achieved without proper infrastructure and equipment. My Government will be seeking resources and engaging all stakeholders with a view to ensuring that our national aspirations as a sporting nation are realized. In the past few years, there has been a proposal to develop a public golf course in which members of the public who cannot afford the membership of golf clubs can play. The immediate former government had identified suitable grounds within Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani for this purpose. I am aware that relevant plans and arrangements toward the development of the facility have been on-going. I wish to assure Kenyans that my Government will expedite the necessary measures to ensure the public golf course becomes a reality. As we seek to develop sports facilities across the country, I assure the relevant Ministry of my full support in reclaiming land that may have been gabbed and that was originally intended for development of sports facilities. I wish to note that the Government cannot single-handedly raise the resources needed to put in place the requisite sports infrastructure. I, therefore, take this opportunity to call upon corporate organizations to join hands with the Government in supporting the development of sports facilities in the country. In conclusion, Ladies and Gentlemen, I wish to once again thank the organizers of this years chairmans prize championship for a well-organized tournament which has provided our golfers with a great opportunity to showcase their talent. I encourage you to continue organizing tournaments in order to provide opportunities for our people to perfect their golfing skills and thereby enhance the standards of golf in the country. Thank you and God bless you all.

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