Hon. John Baptist Nambeshe, Chief of the Opposition, urged the Ministry of Education and Sports to accelerate the completion of the Teryet National High Altitude Training Centre in Kapchorwa District.
This plea came as a response to Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa’s congratulations to Joshua Cheptegei for his three consecutive world athletics championship wins.
Cheptegei’s recent victory in the 10,000 meters race at the World Athletics Championships in Hungary, mirroring the achievements of renowned athletes like Haile Gebrselassie and Mo Farah, prompted Nambeshe to advocate for completing the Teryet High Altitude Training Centre as a tribute.
Nambeshe highlighted that the project, initiated in 2012 with a planned handover in 2020, remains unfinished, expressing concern over the expenditure of Shs26 billion without visible progress on the ground.
State Minister for Education and Sports (Higher Education), Hon. John Chrysostom Muyingo, assured that the center is almost complete, with 98% of the work done. He invited the Parliament to witness the ongoing work.
However, Hon. Joseph Ssewungu (Kalungu West Mp)raised questions about the readiness of the training center, implying that if it were truly close to completion, athletes wouldn’t need to train in Kenya. Ssewungu also noted the inability of Uganda to host FIFA games due to issues with Namboole Stadium.
Hon. Allan Ssewanyana (Makindye West) further urged the minister to address the decline in Ugandan athletes’ international performance.
In addition, Hon. Michael Kakembo called for funding to prepare Ugandan athletes for the 2024 Paris Olympics qualifiers. Minister Muyingo confirmed that the program was budgeted for and funds would be allocated to the teams.
The Deputy Speaker tasked the State Minister for Sports to provide updates on football stadium and high altitude training center progress by August 24, 2023.