Preparations for the upcoming 14th edition of the East Africa Community Inter-Parliamentary Games to be held in Mombasa are almost complete.
At least 3,500 MPs and their support staff from eight EAC member states are expected to flock to Mombasa starting Wednesday for the games.
These include about 1,200 MPs from Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, South Sudan, Somalia and DR Congo.
Each delegation will have a dedicated team of security personnel and chase car for the duration of the games which will start on December 6 to December 18.
Routes to be used have been mapped out and security along the routes will be at the maximum.
About six venues will be used for the games with more venues for training identified for the eight sports disciplines including football, netball, volleyball, basketball, darts, athletics, tug-of-war and golf.
Venues for the games include the Mbaraki Stadium which is undergoing renovation, Aga Khan Academy, KPA Makande Hall, Nyali Golf Club, and Shanzu Teachers Training College,
Mbaraki Stadium will host football, athletics and tug-of-war, same as Shanzu TTC.
Aga Khan Academy will host netball, volleyball, basketball and darts for Persons with Disability (PWD), as will KPA Makande Hall.
Golf will be played at the Nyali Golf Club.
Workers at the Mbaraki stadium, home to Kenya Premier League Side Bandari FC, have now been forced to work day and night to make the ground ready for the football, athletics and tug-of-war games that will be hosted at the ground.
“Reliable information indicates that President William Ruto, who was recently elected the EAC chair, will be at the ground on Saturday, December 7, for the opening ceremony,” EALA MP and co-chair of the games Kanini Kega said at the Kenya School of Government on Monday.
Reports indicate that Transport CS Davis Chirchir has for the last month been frequenting the stadium to oversee the progress.
“The tartan track was being laid at night,” Kega said.
Tana River senator Danson Mungatana, who is the Kenyan co-chair of the games alongside Mwala MP Vincent Musau, said they are satisfied with the preparations and are ready to host the games.
“The spirit of these games is to bring our countries and people closer together and create harmony amongst ourselves as East African people,” Mungatana said.
Musau said the games come at a time when the EAC is celebrating 25 years of close collaboration and integration.
“We are ready to battle it out with each other but in a friendly way. So, for those who think that MPs are too fat to run, they should come and watch us,” Musau, who is a sprinter, said.
He called on Mombasa residents to sell the county as one of the best holiday destinations saying the games will not only provide entertainment but also help create job opportunities for them.
“Make sure these MPs extend their stay beyond the games. They should sample Mombasa as a tourist destination,” Musau said.
Kega said the games are not meant to be as competitive as the professionals but a way to enhance the integration of the EAC, with the four pillars of monetary union, customs union, common market and political federation being the intended target.
“The integration is deepening, widening, strengthening and tightening,” he said.
EALA MP and the games co-chair Ali Machano from Tanzania said Mombasa residents should take advantage of the games to enhance their businesses and create rapport with more businesspeople from other countries through their representatives.
He said he is impressed with the preparations for the games and expressed confidence that at the end of the games, there will be more positives and no negatives.
“What we need to see is what Mombasa can offer as a destination. We need to see that because we always hear Mombasa raha. We want to experience that raha,” Machano said.
The EAC-IPG was established by a resolution of the 4th Bureau of Speakers held in 2009.
The meeting resolved to hold Inter-Parliamentary Games for East Africa Community Partner States on an annual and rotational basis to build relations between the East African Community Legislative Assembly (EALA) and the Parliaments of the East African Community region.
