On Tuesday 21 January, the Cabinet of the Republic of Kenya approved the declassification of the Sports, Arts and Social Development Fund and its return to the Ministry of Youth Affairs, Creative Economy and Sports.In a sitting chaired by President William Ruto at the Kakamega State Lodge, the fund was among the many approved changes to state corporations.REPORTS: Kazakhstan giants table hundreds of millions for Harambee Stars left backThe Sports, Arts and Social Development Fund was initially a state corporation mandated to provide funding to support the development and promotion of sports and arts and the promotion of social development including universal health care.The change comes as a result of the president’s commitment to streamline government operations, reduce wastage of funds and curb excesses.##NAJAVA_MECA_8650527##It is on that basis that the National Treasury assessed 271 State Corporations and came up with recommendations that include merging 42 of them to form 20, dissolution of nine with 16 others also set for dissolution as well as restructuring of six.Additionally, four State Corporations including the Sports Fund will be declassified while all professional bodies have been declassified and ineligible for government allocations.Musonye explains how Tanzania and Uganda’s unpreparedness led to CHAN postponementAccording to the cabinet memo, the Sports Fund will have a strengthened and more focused governance framework on its return to the Sports Ministry.Presently, up to 60 per cent of the funds are used for social development including universal health care, up to 35 per cent for the promotion and development of sports, up to 20 per cent for the promotion and development of arts and up to five per cent for government strategic interventions.##NAJAVA_MECA_8650493##For Sports, the fund was among others used for the development of sporting facilities like stadia and gymnasiums, financing sports federations and sports persons to enable them to participate in sporting events as well as rewards to those who excel internationally.Additionally, the fund was used to acquire sporting equipment, and capacity building for persons involved in sports development as well as supporting the identification, nurturing and development of talent in sports.American author launches free facility to nurture young athletics talents in KenyaAll these functions will now be performed and funded by the Ministry of Sports which could be detrimental to the growth of sports if the funds are not ring-fenced as was the case when it was a State Corporation.