The National government has been challenged to put a tax waiver on sport gear sent to the country for charity work and sports sponsorship.
Youth in Old town area in Mombasa said that they are forced to contribute up to Sh50,000 for them to secure the clearance of sports gear sent to them by well wishers from foreign countries to enhance sport development in Mombasa and other parts of the coastal region.
Led by their Head coach Yusuf Mohammed the Old town Sports for Development, youth group said that it has been a challenged for them to source for funds to get their soccer kits luggage cleared at the port of Mombasa a situation that will in future deny them such sponsorship.
Mohammed said that most of their sponsors have withdrawn their support for the teams under ‘Old town Sports for Development’ since they are forced to contribute more cash to secure the release of donated sports gears to soccer teams in Mombasa.
Yusuf famously known as ‘Coach Ndere’ said that the issue needed quick intervention so that the youth can benefit from such sponsorship and nurture their talents.
“We cannot ask for sponsorship and then go back to our well wishers and ask for more cash so that we get our luggage cleared at the port of Mombasa, it just doesn’t add-up,” said Coach Ndere.
He said that it is through sports that Old town and Majengo areas within Mombasa Island are relatively calm compared to last year where the island experienced the emergence of juvenile gangs armed with machetes injuring and killing locals.
“We need to put our head together and chat the way forward by enabling foreign donation aimed at uplifting the sports and nurturing talents in Mombasa be cleared free of charge at the port of Mombasa,” he alluded.
Coach Ndere thanked well-wishers from Belgium led by Odinaka Okwor, a youth coach who donated Jacko balls, Kenny Ulin, Physical coach and Riekert Stael who donated balls, sports jersey and other sports gears to Old town Sports for Development organization extending his appeal to other well wishers in Mombasa and other private investors to sponsor sports activities to nurture young talents.