By Shadrack Nyakoe
The government has been implored to allocate more resources to grow grassroots football.
Speaking during the Chelimo Cup Tournament, the governorship aspirant for Elgeyo Marakwet on the National Vision Party Anthony Chelimo, said that there’s a lot of untapped potential in our youths which can turn to be a goldmine.
“Kenya has a lot of talent that remains unexploited. If we allocated more resources to the grassroots, our country would be like Brazil. We are carrying out sponsorship of the grassroots tournaments in a bid to involve our youths with constructive activities and to shun crime,” he said when overseeing the tournament at Iten Stadium on Saturday.
In the tournament, Chepkorir young stars from Keiyo South went home smiling after pocketing the prize money of 100,000 followed by the runners-up Fuliza FC from Marakwet West which took home 70,000.
In the ladies category, Iten Starlets from Keiyo North took home Ksh. 70,000 followed closely by Hussein Queens from Marakwet West who garnered 50,000.
Mr. Chelimo says that he is focused on youth empowerment and nurturing their talents.
He oversaw the tournament when officially launching his gubernatorial bid for Elgeyo Marakwet.
The man who plans to take the mantle from the outgoing governor Alex Tolgos, elucidated the contents of his manifesto which aims to address pertinent issues like Infrastructure, education, agriculture, healthcare, and security just to mention but a few.
For instance, in the area of security, Mr. Chelimo who is an astute business cum politician plans to work closely with the national government to construct and equip modern police posts and stations which will be manned using the latest technology which he is a brainchild of.
Elgeyo Marakwet stares at security threats of banditry from the volatile neighboring counties of Baringo and West Pokot.
In the area of Agriculture, Mr. Chelimo who steers the ship of the National Vision Party, which he has worked tirelessly to revive, explained his plan
“Elgeyo Marakwet county is an agrarian region blessed with fertile arable soil which we can irrigate and make our county food sufficient. The county is the best producer of the sweetest mangoes and the incoming Governor Eng. Chelimo intends to set up processing factories in a bid to create job employment for the youths.
On youth, women, and persons with disabilities, Mr. Chelimo intends to hone their skills through TVETs and cottage industries so that they can earn a decent income and be financially stable.
