Full in tray for new Sports CS Achesa

New cabinet secretary for Sports and Heritage Rashid Achesa Mohamed was on Friday sworn into office.

Achesa was among the nine Cabinet Secretaries who took oath of office on Friday morning at State House, Nairobi in the presence of President Uhuru Kenyatta. Others were Farida Karoney (Lands), Monica Juma (Foreign Affairs), Margaret Kobia (Public Service, Youth and Gender Affairs), John Munyes (Petroleum and Mining), Simon Chelgui (Water), Keriako Tobiko (Environment), Ukur Yattani (Labour) and Peter Munya (East African Community).

Achesa, who was appointed to the position on January 26 this year, now takes over from Hassan Wario who was handed a diplomatic job as Kenya’s ambassador to Austria.

Achesa’s appointment ended Wario’s five-year tenure in charge of the sports docket, during which his successes were clouded in scandals, chief among them the mismanagement of Team Kenya at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Achesa’s appointment was received with mixed reactions with critics claiming he did not complete his primary school education.

He did not avoid the matter when it came up in the forms he was required to fill during his vetting by a select committee of the National Assembly.

“Due to his humble background and challenges of school fees, he was not able to continue with his formal education,” the report, tabled in the House on Tuesday afternoon, said.

He finds the sports fraternity in a complex situation with a major financial crisis hitting most federations and clubs that were sponsored by betting firm SportPesa, which withdrew its sponsorship after the state approved a 35 percent tax on betting.

Among his major assignments in his already packed diary will be to ensure the Sports Fund is up and running.