At least Sh. 30 million will exchange hands in Narok town during the 12th edition of the Water Companies Sports Organization (WASCO) games that will be held at the William Ole Ntimama stadium in August this year.
The WASCO National Chairman, Peter Kamau, said the main beneficiaries will be the hoteliers, transport sector, Maasai beads vendors, and fruit vendors, among others.
The games from August 14th to August 18th are expected to bring together about 50 water companies in the country.
Kamau, who spoke in Narok town when he led the technical team to inspect the ground, said over 3,000 water company employees and those from the Ministry of Water will be participating in the games.
“We have invited all water sector employees to participate in the games. Our main aim is to interact and share our experiences,” he said.
While noting that the sport’s theme will be ‘Combating Climate Change through Games’, Kamau said the water companies target to plant over 1 million trees in a ten-year period so as to boost tree cover in line with the presidential directive of planting 15 billion trees by 2032.
The chairman admitted that the main challenge the water companies faced was failing to manage non-revenue water (NRW), which is currently at 45 per cent.
However, he was optimistic that during the gaming period, the water service providers’ employees will learn from each other and share ideas on how to curb the NRW.
“We recommend Nyeri County, which recorded a small percentage in NRW. We expect our employees to have a good interaction that will help us deal with the challenges we face in the water sector,” he said.
The WASCO Secretary General, Joseph Kihara, said 16 disciplines, among them football, volleyball, netball, athletics, and indoor games, will feature in the five sporting days.
“The games will be played at the Maasai Mara University field, St. Mary’s Primary School, and the Ole Ntimama stadium,” he said.
WASCO Technical Committee Chairman Musa Ouma expressed confidence that the games will be very competitive as some of the companies are playing in the National League.
“The Nairobi team, which is the defending champion in football, is a team to watch. Also, Embu and Eldoret water companies are playing in the country’s top league and are expected to perform very well in the upcoming games,” he reiterated.
Narok Water and Sewerage Company (NARWASCO) Chairman Moses Samante thanked the organizing committee for choosing Narok County to host the games and assured the teams of his full support.
By Ann Salaton
