The Government has welcomed the postponement of the African Senior Athletics Champions from April to July next year.
But inside sources in Ministry of Sports intimated that the ministry deliberately delayed releasing the pledged Sh30million to Athletics Kenya for the continental event to avoid possible misuse of funds.
"During the 2007 World Cross Country Championships, the Ministry of Sports released funds early which ended up not being used properly. We don’t want the same situation this time," said the source, who requested not to be named.
The Ministry had pledged to support the event, but were waiting for an appropriate moment to release the money," said the source.
The postponement of the biennial event could be an advantage to stakeholders including athletes who have a tight calendar next year and the Kenyan organisers who were struggling to get their act together.
They can breathe a sigh of relief since they were yet to open a secretariat.
A statement released on the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) website on Thursday confirmed that the continent’s top track and field competition has been rescheduled.
But no reason was given for the postponement. When contacted, Athletics Kenya chairman, Isaiah Kiplagat, could not comment, but said they would hold a press conference on Monday to discuss the issue.
"The Senior African Championships 2010 previously supposed to take place from April 28 to May 2 in 2010 will actually take place from July 28 to August 1 in Nairobi, Kenya," said the statement on the CAA website.
The Government reaffirmed their commitment three weeks ago in a Gazette notice. Commissioner of Sports Gordon Oluoch confirmed the commitment.
"We welcome the postponement of the event because it would give everybody enough time to prepare. The Government has given a commitment to fund the event and we want it to be successful," said Oluoch.
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