The National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) President Paul Tergat addresses delegates during the Special General Meeting at Westlands Banquet Centre in Nairobi on March 12, 2025.
“The Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympic Games were satisfying and gave me the opportunity to streamline the operations and governance of NOC-K. Covid-19 pandemic stretched all of us but NOC-K came out a better organisation and us, better administrators.
Serving the Olympic Movement in Kenya has been an incredible honour. As one who championed the establishment and practice of good governance at NOC-K, I am duly happy to conclude my constitutional term of eight years and pave the way for the next elected leader according to our constitution and the Sports Act of Kenya.
As we prepare to usher in a new president and his team, I am sure that the national federation membership will decide who will be the best person to take over from me.
I have given my all to build the institution and I am leaving with my head held high and proud to hand over a NOC-K with a solid foundation. NOC-K is an established brand that is strong financially and capable of meeting its current and future endeavours.
Within the period under review, I feel fulfilled with my mission and vision of building a structured and well-oiled systems-oriented sports organisation, run under the best governance practice, thanks to the cohesive team of visionary, passionate and dedicated board members and the secretariat which really helped me. Therefore, I should credit them for my success and that of Kenyan sports in general.
National Olympic Committee of Kenya (NOC-K) President Paul Tergat speaks during NOC-K media seminar at Sagana, Murang'a County on March 02,2024.
When I took over in 2017, NOC-K was facing bankruptcy from an expensive bank loan the previous office had taken to develop the federation’s plot in Upper Hill which now houses Talanta Plaza.
The construction of NOC-K Plaza which was supposed to be the NOC-K headquarters started in 2012. Sidian Bank were expected to contribute two-thirds of the Sh1.2 billion cost to put up the 16-storey building.
NOC-K would then provide the remaining Sh400 to complete the project. NOC-K failed to raise the funds leading to the stalling of the project with auctioneers poised to pounce in 2019.
I managed to reach out to President William Ruto, then the Deputy President, who took me to President Uhuru Kenyatta and together they came up with a rescue plan to save the NOC-K property from the auctioneers’ hammer by taking over all liabilities accrued from the semi-developed plot.
This was a case of unintentional bad financial decisions of which we can’t blame the previous administration that wanted something for posterity.
The government cleared the debt, left something for NOC-K and managed to complete the construction of the building which is now the Talanta Plaza which houses the Sports and Culture Ministry. Somehow, NOC-K’s misfortunes enabled the ministry to have its own permanent headquarters. So, in a way, this remains as one of my proudest achievements because, through the government’s assistance, we also managed to purchase an office block in Parklands for NOC-K.
NOC-K is now on a sound financial footing and able to implement its programmes and operations seamlessly as it delivers on its mandate to serve the sports fraternity and ambitiously achieve the next level of goals on a solid financial base.
But this was not without challenges. In my two terms at NOC-K the Covid-19 global pandemic in 2019/21 was my biggest challenge. This was the moment of extreme nightmare for any leader especially in sports, considering that we were entering an Olympic year (Tokyo 2020).
Everything ground to a halt. The Games were postponed despite athletes having prepared intensely. Global tournaments and championships were stopped. There were no competitions for athletes.
Solidarity
Despite all these, I am happy to note that our solidarity, flexibility and innovativeness made us come out and resume sporting success as we prepared and participated at the postponed Olympics in Tokyo with impressive results.
I am very proud to say that our support to all our affiliate members or national federations was enhanced steadily during my eight years through enhanced support which went beyond annual financial grants. We offered technical support by way of capacity building through training for coaches, treasurers and presidents.
National Olympic Committee-Kenya President Paul Tergat, delivers his speech during the 2022 Commonwealth Games Gala for participants, and awarding of medallists at EKA Hotel in Eldoret town, Uasin Gishu County on October 5, 2022.
I and my team also introduced safeguarding officers who introduced human resources capacity building for the welfare of the athletes. We also extended kitting and travel support to national federations and facilitated their leaders to attend major events and conferences at continental and international stages.
This enabled them to seek and secure leadership positions in international sports organisations. The support ranged from athletes to technical and administrative levels.
I also ensured that we operated within a strategic plan and policy guidelines which ensured that we utilised our resources in the most sustainable manner. The systems and governance structures in place guides decision making and this includes revenue generation and expenses based on priority areas and strategic objectives as determined by the board annually.
However, I must accept that when I was elected president, I found a divided house with several federations having two offices. Others had been suspended by their international federations. Some officials were also facing legal challenges following the Rio Olympics scandal.
We tried to mediate where possible and encouraged all our affiliates to adhere to the Sports Act 2013, and I have led by example by making sure that NOC-K elections are held timely.
We have managed to bring harmony in the national federations but I agree others still have issues beyond us. It’s unfortunate that badminton, golf and swimming will not take part in the NOC-K elections. My desire has always been that of total inclusion and we have all tried to achieve that.
On Kirsty Coventry's election as President of IOC, this was a phenomenal trailblazing achievement, and I am happy I supported the winning side.
Kirsty offered herself for the coveted post and was the only lady candidate in the hotly-contested race. She not only wrote history as the first female IOC President but also the youngest, winning resoundingly in the first round. This win is an extraordinary inspiration to many athletes aspiring for progressive careers in sports and administration, a well-deserved and merited election of an illustrious Olympian. She has shown that everything is possible for everyone with a focus and vision.
Not going anywhere
What next for me? I am not going anywhere. Far from it. I remain a dedicated and steadfast member of the Olympic family by virtue of my membership at the IOC. I will remain in the Board of NOC-K to offer guidance while at the continental stage, I am still active in commissions and other roles given to me by the IOC and Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (Anoca).
I will continue dedicating myself to serving the Olympic Movement robustly because it is public knowledge that my ecosystem is in sports.”
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