Life Down Under: No 'VIP treatment' in Australia
Sports Cabinet Secretary Rashid Echesa, Principal Secretary Kirimi Kaberia, Kenya's High Commissioner to Australia Isaiah Kabira, National Olympic Committee of Kenya President Paul Tergat among the dignitaries celebrating with Kenya's steeplechase medallists in Gold Coast on April 13, 2018. PHOTO | NORMAN KATENDE |
What you need to know:
- Kaberia was with Echesa on the terraces close to the finish line in Friday’s track action.
- Kenyan parliamentarians are finding the absence of preferential treatment here rather uncomfortable.
In Australia, political leaders hardly carry themselves with the air of self-importance that we witness in Africa.
No countless outriders, not deafening sirens, no retinue of bodyguards, handlers, hangers-on or “personal assistants” in tow.
This appears to strike Kenyan VIPs a bit odd here, with Members of Parliament, Senators and other dignitaries on different assignments at the Commonwealth Games enjoying the freedom of Gold Coast without much ado.
But Sports Cabinet Secretary Rashid Echesa and his Principal Secretary Kirimi Kaberia must be longing to enjoy such freedom back home, going by their laid-back, day-to-day programme here.
The two ministry leaders have enjoyed mingling with Kenyan athletes, officials, fans and journalists and have discarded their official jackets and ties, settling for the ‘Team Kenya’ Nike tracksuits and T-shirts as daily apparel.
Kaberia, who was with Echesa on the terraces close to the finish line in Friday’s track action, was besides himself with joy, breaking into tears of joy as the Kenyan trio of Conseslus Kipruto, Abraham Kibiwott and Amos Kirui launched a lap of honour after completing a sweep of the steeplechase.
Sports Cabinet Secretary Rashid Echesa (right) with Kenya's 10,000m runners Josephat Kipkoech Bett, Rodgers Kwemoi and Jonathan Ndiku at the Carrara Stadium in Gold Coast on April 13, 2018. PHOTO | ELIAS MAKORI |
“Things are different. We want to make change in Kenyan sport and this is the beginning,” Echesa told Nation Sport.
“When we go back home, we shall have an audit into these performances to make sure Kenya does better in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and beyond,” the minister said as he shuttled from the boxing venue at Oxenford Studios to the athletics competition at the Carrara Stadium.
Kenyan parliamentarians, on the other hand, are finding the absence of preferential treatment here rather uncomfortable.
They don’t have VIP access to the stadium and are having to make do with purchasing tickets to the various competitions.
On Friday, Barnabas Korir, the head of Kenya’s delegation here, was under pressure to purchase athletics competition tickets for the legislators who would have none of it when he told them such purchase wasn’t in the Kenyan team’s budget.
Hopefully, the MPs will now see reason to fight for a bigger allocation to sports in the next national budget.
