INTERVIEW WITH SPORTS CABINET SECRETARY, HON. ABABU NAMWAMBA
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2024 | VIPINGO RIDGE, KILIFI COUNTY
ON THE SIDE-LINES OF THE 3RD ROUND OF THE 2024 MAGICAL KENYA LADIES OPEN
Tell us about the Talanta Hela dream as envisioned and how it comes alive in golf at Vipingo:
Talanta Hela is about three things: Identifying, nurturing, and monetizing talent. It is about providing a pipeline where we grow talents in a very deliberate, intentional, and structured style but, ultimately, turning those talents into livelihoods by monetizing those talents.
For golf, I have seen this really coming live in the manner in which young golfers are now getting into that earning belt or an earning ecosystem where they are able to get some money out of their talents. We are now working with the with the Junior Golf Foundation to provide a pipeline to see how we can develop golfing talents from the earliest age possible.
This, then, assures Kenya that we can be able to place Kenyan golfers into the top tier - the very elite level of golfing like the LET and the DP World series. This can only be done if you have a deliberate plan to identify talent at the earliest age possible, nurture them, and then funnel them into that monetary system.
You recently met with corporates; talk to us about the interaction between government and corporates in the Talanta Hela dream.
There's no way government alone can carry the load of growing sports and turning sports into the huge economic ecosystem that sports should be. This requires partnerships, and especially partnerships with the corporate world. Whether you look at football in the United Kingdom or American football in the US; whichever sport you look at across the world, it is really powered through corporate partnerships and sponsorships - and that is what we want to see here.
The reason why the Government through his ministry of sports is working very closely with the corporates is to package sports as an economic product and get corporates to put in money - not as a CSR and not as a charitable activity but as an investment. Because sports is a big investment.
From Kenya Airways to EABL and their Tusker brand - all these partners that are coming on board, I really want to thank you and I want to tell you that you're not making a mistake; you are actually putting your money in the right place. and Talanta Hela with its long-term vision of identifying, nurturing, and monetizing talent guarantees you a big success story.
You also met federations and made a call to them about nurturing talent. Speak to us about that.
Federations cannot be just about attending events or bringing budgets to attend events in different capitals around the world or hosting events here in Kenya. They must be the breeding grounds for growing talent. That is why I have asked federations to invest in youth and grassroots development programmes. Every federation must have a youth talent development programme. We are not going to give you any money just to host events if you don’t have a robust youth development agenda.
Teams participating in leagues like the Kenya Premier League, you must meet the requirement to have a senior team, a women’s team, and a youth team. That's the only way we can guarantee full development of this whole sporting ecosystem. Transparency, accountability, and good governance: those are the irreducible minimums for all federations.
You have had a very busy week; how has your last week been?
Crazy! Nairobi, Paris, Miramas, Marseille, Los Angeles, Abidjan, Vipingo: Yeah, it has been a dizzying 10 days. Looking at the time zones, the weather patterns: from freezing Paris to LA to boiling hot Abidjan to this amazing Vipingo – it has been quite a rollercoaster; but all for good.
In France, we have been able to prepare the camping space where Team Kenya will come for the Olympics - and that is now ready in Miramas in the South of France. In LA, we have been solidifying our partnership in music, in film, and in the creative space generally. Invention Studios will be arriving here next week to start preparations to shoot 15 blockbuster movies in Kenya.
With the Grammys, we are on the cusp of a big thing: launching the African Grammys with Kenya being the pivot. In Abidjan just looking at the Africa Cup of Nations and making sure that we're keeping an eye on what it takes to deliver a successful AFCON with Kenya poised to co-host AFCON in 2027, and just solidified partnership around youth football development with the government of Côte d'Ivoire. And finally, here: I mean, I have missed the final in Côte d'Ivoire to be here for the Magical Kenya Ladies Open because this is really something special.
A word of encouragement for our Kenyan ladies who played here.
I am very proud of you girls: you are amazing. You have made us proud, and this is only the beginning for you. The Government is going to support you big time because you represent the very best and the future of Kenyan golf. And for the international community, thank you for coming to Kenya, and keep coming to magical Kenya – the land of Hakuna Matata!