The Government is planning to build a Sports Complex in Njukiri, Embu County ahead of the 2023 Madaraka Day celebrations set to be held in the county, Sports CS Ababu Namwamba has said after a meeting with Embu County government led by Governor Cecily Mbarire.Speaking during a site visit to Embu on Wednesday morning, the CS who has been up and down since his appointment revealed that they had evaluated both Embu Stadium and Njukiri area and opted to start a new project at the latter which has a bigger space.The Sports Kenya CEO Pius Metto accompanied him alongside the Sports Kenya board chairman as they toured the two venues.The Government will build a new Sports Complex in Njukiri, Embu County ahead of Madaraka Day Celebrations, according to Sports CS @AbabuNamwamba after a visit to Embu today.The CS has also tasked Sports Kenya with the renovation of Embu Stadium. pic.twitter.com/bi1NJOwQs3— Murimi Njiru (@muriminjirujnr) January 11, 2023 Namwamba detailed that the complex aims at housing not only a football stadium but will have arenas for other disciplines including athletics, basketball, tennis, as well as a studio for artists.”I am here following the President’s pronouncement that the Madaraka Day celebrations this year will take place in Embu and we want to get ready for that. The stadium in Embu town is not big enough and that is why we came to see Njukiri and consider whether we can start a new Sports City. We have a plan of building a big complex that will have a football pitch, a running track, a swimming pool, and arenas for other games such as basketball and tennis.##NAJAVA_MECA_6937472##We also want to have a studio so that other artists can have a place where they can record their art. This is in line with our plan to launch Talanta Hela project and Embu will be the first to improve infrastructure in Sports and Arts. The ministry is ready to work with the county government to build a new complex here to ensure we improve the state of Sports and Arts in Embu,” he said.The CS also tasked Sports Kenya with the responsibility to conduct a facelift of Embu Stadium and make it playable for use by local teams as the big project in Njukiri will be taking shape.CS @AbabuNamwamba is currently meeting the Embu Governor H.E. Hon. @CecilyMbarire at the Embu County governor’s office. The CS is on an inspection mission of the Embu stadium, which has been earmarked to host the 2023 Madaraka Day celebrations. pic.twitter.com/OTar2jnqso— Ministry Of Youth Affairs, Sports & The Arts (@moscakenya) January 11, 2023 Embu Stadium, strategically situated in the middle of Embu Town, was one of Governor Martin Wambora’s flagship projects when he was elected in 2013 and cost upwards of Ksh 180M but still remains an eyesore.”Where we are standing has cost the taxpayer Ksh 180M. it is a crime of the highest order and those that were involved should even be in prison because when I look at this Stadium I do not see that money anywhere. We have to be responsible and look into the issue of stadia well. I have given Sports Kenya the task of starting a facelift of the stadium starting with the basic things. While we go on with the Njukiri project, we also want to be giving Embu Stadium a facelift,” Namwamba posited.
