The CS for Youth Affairs, Sports, and the Arts, Ababu Namwamba has been facing a lot of heat this week over the running of his ministry with one sore spot being his novel Talanta Hela initiative.
The Talanta Hela app was launched on June 9 to assist Kenyans with skills in sports and other creative industries in connecting with potential sponsors.
Now the politician has responded through the Ministry's head of communication, Pauline Sheghu, who admitted to Kenyans.co.ke in an interview that the Talanta App launched by President William Ruto is unavailable.
She said the reason for this was because of the dissolution of the Talanta Hela Committee in June of this year and explained that the app would be operational once the committee is put together.
"Most of the people who were working on the app were part of the committee. So the app was put on hold as the CS keeps the house in order. We cannot just launch something. Then it does not work. That puts the President in an awkward situation," she said.
As some of you might remember, on June 9th, Namwamba revoked the appointments of Carol Radul, Dennis Itumbi, Azziad Nasenya, Daniel Ndambuki, and others in the Talanta Hela council and technical committees.
She finished by stating that the program which was launched with much fanfare a few months ago, was being actively pushed on the county level.
"We are currently going to the counties physically so that we don't waste talent. Some people are in the interior parts of the country, and they do have online platforms. So physically showcasing their talent is better for them."
Ababu has been a man under siege from several leaders in parliament with Uasin Gishu woman representative and Deputy Speaker Gladys Boss first raising the issue of the missing app during a TV interview.
According to Boss, Namwamba has neglected sportsmen and women representing the country in international events.
Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei also backed a move to have Ababu summoned before the National Assembly to respond to accusations of mishandling Kenyan athletes.
Cherargei took to X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday and urged Majority Leader Kimani Ichung'wah who first proposed the summoning of Namwamba over accountability.
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