Kenya Insights

Tag: Sports

  • Trump Signs Order Banning Transgender Women From Female Sports

    Trump Signs Order Banning Transgender Women From Female Sports

    US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that prevents transgender women from competing in female categories of sports.

    The order provides guidance, regulations and legal interpretations, and it will enlist the Department of Education to investigate high schools thought to be non-compliant.

    Republicans say it restores fairness to sports but LGBT advocacy and human rights organisations have described the move as discriminatory.

    The order, which goes into effect immediately, largely covers high school, universities and grassroots sports.

    A number of sporting governing bodies, including swimming, athletics and golf, have banned transgender women from competing in the female category at elite level if they have gone through male puberty.

    According to White House officials who briefed reporters on Wednesday morning, this latest order empowers the Department of Education to investigate how schools implement Title IX, a US law that bans sex discrimination in federally funded education programmes.

    An administration official said that the executive order will reverse the position of the Biden administration which in April last year said that LGBT students would be protected by federal law, although it did not give specific guidance on transgender athletes.

    “If you let men take over women’s sports teams or invade your locker rooms, you will be investigated for violations of Title IX and risk your federal funding,” Trump explained.

    Additionally, the White House plans to bring in sporting bodies – such as the National Collegiate Athletics Association, or NCAA – to come to the White House to meet female athletes and their parents to discuss concerns.

    The official who discussed the order, said the US would do all it could to prevent transgender athletes from competing against females in International Olympic Committee competitions that take place on US soil.

    President Trump specified that the order would include the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

    He has said he will deny visas for transgender Olympic athletes trying to visit the US to compete at the LA Games.

    Ahead of signing the executive order, Trump declared that “the war on women’s sports is over”, saying that during the LA Games, “my administration will not stand by and watch men beat and batter female athletes.”

    He said he would direct the secretary of homeland security “to deny any and all visa applications made by men attempting to fraudulently enter the United States while identifying themselves as women athletes…”

    White House officials described the policies as being broadly popular with Americans, and critical to ensuring “fairness” for women in sports, as well as safety.

    In a statement, Human Rights Campaign president Kelley Robinson said that the order “exposes young people to harassment and discrimination, emboldening people to question the gender of kids who don’t fit a narrow view of how they’re supposed to dress or look”.

    “For so many students, sports are about finding somewhere to belong,” Ms Robinson added. “Not partisan policies that make life harder for them.”

    Less than 1% of the population over the age of 13 in the US are transgender, according to a study by the UCLA Williams Institute, and the number playing sports is smaller.

    On Trump’s first day in office on 20 January, he signed a separate order calling for the federal government to officially define sex as either being male or female.

    (BBC)

  • Governor Awiti In Hot Soup Over Stalled Sh360 Million Homa Bay Stadium Project

    Governor Awiti In Hot Soup Over Stalled Sh360 Million Homa Bay Stadium Project

    In 2014, HomaBay County set aside a budget of sh200 million to construct a much-hyped ultra-modern 9,000-capacity Homa Bay Stadium that, was supposed to be build from scratch. 5 years ago, After a groundbreaking ceremony, the only thing to show for the project a dormant dirt-stinging, iron sheet fenced area filled with craters created by excavation machines.

    According to the Homa Bay County’s executive for sports, Fredrick Odero, in the financial year 2014-2015 the devolved unit set aside Sh200m for the project that would occupy about 4.5 acres. Another Sh160m was allocated for the stadium construction this financial year.

    The retired Auditor General Edward Ouko in January released a report revealing that one of the contractors was paid despite not completing work contracted to do. The contractor, Manjano Enterprises Limited, was to build a perimeter wall and related works for the stadium at a cost of Sh28million.

    However, the firm was paid Sh5million but failed to complete the work, and in fact, they moved away from the site.

    “The contractor had erected columns (pillars) covering half of the stadium’s perimeter only but thereafter abandoned the site,” indicated the report.

    The construction works resumed on July 5 this year with authorities in the region saying that the project will now be finalized in the next one and a half years.

    “We hope that work on this facility that resumed about two months ago and is estimated to take one and half years to complete will proceed well amid the teething problems raised by National Environment Management Authority (Nema). We are determined to ensure that work on this project is not interfered with or delayed,” said Odero.

    Our background checks revealed that the project had been initially stopped by NEMA for failing to meet the set standards and comply with the regulations set by the environment management agency.

    The main contractor, Six-Eleven Energy Limited, has only carried out site clearance, construction of office store and demolition of the existing structures. Even the iron sheet perimeter wall is half complete.

    According to the county officials, the stadium will be oval-shaped with two wings – north and south. Each wing has a 2,000 capacity stand alongside a VIP pavilion with a capacity of 3,000, terrace with 2,000 people. The playing surface was to have an artificial carpet.

    Other features are an eight lanes tartan track, modern changing rooms and underground offices. However, no artistic impression or the project blueprint of the sports structure is available for perusal raising a red flag.

    In their defense, the Homa Bay county government has however announced that it will only concentrate on the main stadium before considering constructing the other facilities. Odero hinted that they will seek financial help from the private sector and the national government after completion of phase one which will involve putting up of the main pavilion and the artificial turf.

    “We will finalize phase one and later use it as a display to ask for assistance from potential well-wishers as the funds we have are not enough. We will not start any other project until this one has been finalized. However, we have long term plans to construct three other sports facilities at the sub-county level,” said the county’s director for sports Francis Guma.

    The region comprises eight sub-counties which have been clustered into three regions where other stadiums will be constructed according to Guma.

    “By 2022, we hope we will be able to improve the other three facilities which I cannot refer to as stadiums but medium-size sub-county sports facilities,” he said.

    No sports facility in Homa Bay meets the minimum requirement laid down the Kenyan Premier League to host its fixtures.

    Construction work at Homa Bay Stadium remains the key pillar not only to the development but also supporting and uplifting the sports culture in the lakeside county that majority of the youths suffer in absolute poverty.