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Archive for April 12th, 2008

ODM backs down on realising Kibaki is a no nonsense man

Posted by africanpress on April 12, 2008

Publisher: Korir, api africanpress@getmail.no source.nation.ke

ODM climbs down on key posts

Story by MIKE MWANIKI and SAM KIPLAGAT

ODM on Friday appeared to have softened on its earlier demand to play a role in appointment of permanent secretaries, ambassadors and parastatal chiefs.

 

 

ODM director of communications Salim Lone addresses a press conference at Pentagon House where he refuted claims that ODM was standing in the way of a new Cabinet. Photo/ PHOEBE OKALL

At the same time, ODM spokesman Salim Lone said Prime Minister-designate Raila Odinga was willing to hold a meeting on the formation of a grand coalition government with President Mwai Kibaki “any time the latter invited him do so”.

Speaking at Pentagon House in Nairobi, Mr Lone said  ODM was not giving any conditions on the appointment of top civil servants but it “would want to be consulted before their appointment was announced”.

Civil servants

“As an equal partner in a grand coalition government, it is only fair that ODM is consulted before top civil servants such as permanent secretaries are appointed,” he said.

 “Just as with the proposed Cabinet, these senior positions must also reflect the diverse face of the nation…

“At the moment, this is not at all the case, and in fact is a source of immense concern in the country.”

ODM insists that the Government had to be a grand coalition of two equal partners sharing executive power on a 50-50 basis, while the Kibaki side is adamant that executive authority was vested in the presidency. 

On the Cabinet portfolio balance, Mr Lone said ODM wanted to be given five infrastructure ministries-Local Government, Foreign Affairs, Energy, Transport and Cabinet Affairs.

“As you all know, infrastructure development is the number one priority of ODM in a bid to jump-start our economy.

“In our early negotiations, ODM gave up demands for the key Finance and Internal Security portfolios, even though we had previously insisted that one of these should be allocated to our party.

“That is why we are now referring to our position as the ‘irreducible minimum’,”  said the ODM director of  communications. 
The party said their call for portfolio balance must reflect ethical, religious and regional diversity.

“Both PNU and ODM must reflect the ethnic, religious and regional diversity of our nation in their respective share of Government,” said the party’s parliamentary group secretary, Budalang’i MP Ababu Namwamba.

The party insisted that the portfolio balance must reflect real power sharing as stated in the National Accord and Reconciliation Act. 

“We accordingly firmly reject any attempt to reduce portfolio balance to a theoretical ornament with little more than mere sentimental value. This would be another cynical ploy to camouflage gross historic imbalances, regional inequalities and ethnic hegemony that now threaten to rip our country asunder,” said Mr Namwamba.

Equal partner

He said ODM would not be passengers in a government which they had a right to belong as an equal partner. 

“Our demand for reconstitution of the entire government must therefore be seen in the context of the very urgent need to de-tribalise our Public Service which, as currently constituted, is heavily skewed in favour of a single region,” he said.

Mr Namwamba, who was accompanied by party chief whip Jakoyo Midiwo and nominated MP Sofia Abdi, cited the  ministries of Finance, Internal Security and Provincial Administration, Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Roads and Public Works and Energy as those with ministers and the PS’s from one region.

He said the party was now challenging the PNU to rise up to what ODM had demonstrated in ceding positions  for the sake of forming a coalition government.

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Kibaki, Raila blend could be chaotic

Posted by africanpress on April 12, 2008

Send to API by : janam (IP: 121.245.135.12 , 121.245.135.12)

Comment:
This report is everywhere…bbc,our own dailies…BUT??? Yes there is a deal, but this article is worth reading…how can the two blend? Kibaki, Raila blend could be chaotic

Published on April 13, 2008, 12:00 am(sunday standard)

By Kap Kirwok

At the end of last year, the day before the announcement that triggered the post-election chaos, I was still navely optimistic that the election outcome would be credible. My tone in this column was upbeat and celebratory. I even penned my New Year wishes to His Excellency the Next President.

I suggested that he buys himself a nice little dog, a cute cuddly cat and a book on leadership and jazz.

The dog was to help stroke his masters ego because, in politics, they say the only loyal friend you can count on is a dog. The cat, because of its refusal to take orders, was meant to remind H E to be humble. A book on jazz was to be a source of unique lessons on leadership. Jazz maestros offer great lessons in managing complexity.

That was then. This is now. Do my belated New Year gift ideas still have any use?

I would still recommend the cat to the President and the Prime Minister. We can always use a little humility. But the dog? No. We have seen enough egos being stroked at our expense. As for that book on jazz and its lessons on leadership, the events of recent times have convinced me that any efforts aimed at coaxing any redeeming leadership qualities from our captains of state is a lost cause.

Adjectives that I hear increasingly used to describe the leadership qualities that we have seen displayed run the entire range of the alphabet: from awkward, blundering, and cavalier on one end, to xenophobic, yoyo-like and zigzagy on the other, and marionette in between.

Presidential leadership style is not an academic subject. It is a life and death affair. The country today totters on the brink and bears witness to a tale of death, pain and suffering inflicted by disreputable and tragicomical leadership styles.

President Jomo Kenyattas leadership style has been described as a tough-love type; by turns charismatic and forceful, but wickedly shrewd. His status as founding Father of the Nation gave him the latitude to act out the role of the towering, no-nonsense generalissimo.

For all his faults, such as laying the foundation for the class and ethnic divide we see today, he is credited for appointing competent people and holding them accountable for performance  sometimes with a bakora. He was the equivalent of a chairman and chief executive officer.

Retired President Mois leadership style was that of the prototypical micro-manager, with a boisterous and highly visible manner of managing state affairs. You could not accuse Moi of indecision or equivocation. Nor could you ever doubt who was running the country. He was the quintessential chief operating officer.

President Kibakis leadership style is, as Uhuru Kenyatta once said, a “see-nothing, do-nothing and say-nothing” type. In less harsh language, you might describe it as a laissez-faire style, characterised by delegation (some might say abdication) of duty. His style is Kenyattalite in as far as it echoes the sunset years of Jomos rule. In corporate business, he would be the non-executive chairman.

We have seen President Kibakis leadership style both in crisis and during calmer periods. From the little we have seen of Raila Odingas style, he appears capable of melting the roles of a chief operating officer and that of a chief executive officer.

Assuming that this power-sharing business works out well and allows the two to get on with the work of running the government, how will the two styles shake out?

Consider the fact that the coalition structure neither provides for a unified command nor collegial leadership. Add to this the sharply contrasting personality and leadership styles of the principal actors and what you get is a churkendoose  a strange bird that is part chicken, part turkey, part duck and part goose. Will it be able to fly gracefully as a goose? Can it swim effortlessly like a duck? Will it, like domestic turkey, require artificial (read foreign) insemination to reproduce? Or will it, like chicken, remain earthbound, clucking and scratching away, oblivious of the eagle above?

Several scenarios might play themselves out when the leadership styles of the two principals collide. The apocalyptic scenario envisages a breakdown of the coalition followed by a refusal to hold fresh elections, triggering a fresh, more dangerous round of ethnic fighting that could tip the country over into full-scale civil war.

The optimistic scenario  one for which all Kenyans must pray for  assumes that the President and the Prime Minister will work out the kind of modus operandi and modus vivendi that will enable the country to heal, reconcile, reform and grow.

I am reluctantly optimistic.

The writer is based in the USA

Strategybeyondprofit@gmail.com

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Cameroon signs oil production-sharing contract

Posted by africanpress on April 12, 2008

Publisher: Korir, api africanpress@getmail.no

<By Tansa Musa
 
YAOUNDE, April 11 – Cameroon state-run oil company, the National Hydrocarbons Corporation (SNH) on Thursday signed a production sharing contract with Swiss-based Glencore and Afex Global Limited to explore for oil in the Matanda block of the country’s  Douala-Kribi/Campo basin, according to a press release from SNH.
 
      The statement said the block covered 1,187 km2  in between the Wouri estuary and the neighbouring onshore area to the south and west of Douala, Cameroon’s and Central Africa’s biggest port.
 
      “The contract will reactivate exploration activities on this part of the Cameroon mining domain, which for over a decade registered no activity, but whose potential in gas and condensates was proven in two wells drilled by Gulf Oil Corporation in the early 80s,” SNH said in the statement.
 
     According to SNH, the contract stipulated that the exploration contract was worth $38 million and was renewable twice for tw years each.
 
     Glencore Exploration Limited, the operator of the Matanda block, is a subsidiary of the Swiss based Glencore International AG which is active in oil and gas exploration and production in several countries, including Russia and Equatorial Guinea.
 
      Afex Global Limited is an independent company which operates in Mali and Angola, the SNH said.(END)
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Fear grips the Kenyan people

Posted by africanpress on April 12, 2008

Publisher: Korir, api africanpress@getmail.no source,nation.ke

Story by JEFF OTIENO

What Kenyans fear over the Kibaki-Raila accord

An overwhelming majority of Kenyans support the power-sharing deal between President Kibaki and Prime Minister-designate Raila Odinga. However, they do not believe the partnership will last. 

Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka with Prime Minister designate, Raila Odinga during a funeral service for National Assembly clerk Samuel Ndindiri at the PCEA, Komothai Church in Githunguri, Kiambu, on Friday. Majority of Kenyans support the National Accord but are afraid that it might not last. Photo/CORRESPONDENT

According to a new opinion poll conducted by Steadman Research, 75 per cent of Kenyans support the National Reconciliation Accord  signed by the two leaders on February 28 and witnessed by former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan and Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete.

 

However, despite the overwhelming support for the accord, about half of Kenyans doubt that it will hold for the full five-year term of the current Parliament, given the deep-seated mistrust between ODM and PNU. The research says only 36 per cent of Kenyans believe beyond reasonable doubt that the deal will hold for the next five years.

The poll was released on the day ODM appeared to climb down on their demand for sharing in appointments of permanent secretaries, diplomats and parastatal chiefs with the Government/PNU coalition.

Mr Odinga’s spokesman, Mr Salim Lone, said the party would now seek to be consulted in any such appointments.

“As an equal partner in a grand coalition government, it is only fair that ODM is consulted before top civil servants such as permanent secretaries are appointed,” he said.

According to him, ODM would wait for an invitation from President Kibaki for a meeting to resolve issues which have delayed the naming of a grand coalition Cabinet.

Elsewhere, Catholic bishops called on President Kibaki and Mr Odinga to be decisive and give Kenya a new Cabinet quickly. The bishops have held separate meetings with the two leaders in the past two days.

The breakthrough in negotiating a climb down by ODM on demands for a say in the naming of senior civil servants appeared to have been brokered by US ambassador Michael Ranneberger.

Government spokesman Alfred Mutua described the latest ODM statement as “welcome” and said there was now a possibility of a meeting being organised soon between President Kibaki and Mr Odinga.
“Many issues and partnership arrangements will be resolved and shared within the Coalition Government once it is formed,” the statement stated. 

Steadman’s political analyst Tom Wolf said that although people supported the Peace Accord and believed that the 50-50 power-sharing deal was in order, many have expressed disappointment over the never-ending political fights between the two leading parties.

“The percentage of those skeptical about the deal holding for the next five years might even be higher than 50 per cent if the study was conducted today given the impasse in the announcement of a new Cabinet and the re-emergence of violence in some parts of the country,” said Dr Wolf as he presented the study at the Steadman headquarters in Nairobi.

The poll, which interviewed 2,011 adults between March 28 and April 7, 2008, says only 20 per cent of Kenyans do not support the peace accord, three per cent had no opinion, while another three per cent refused to answer.

Kenyans, according to the research, give different time frames on how long the accord will hold. Some believe it will hold for between two and three years while others say it will only last for one year or less.

Violence

The study, which was conducted in 55 districts including those affected by post-election violence, shows that nearly half of Kenyans (49 per cent) believe there will be widespread violence if the agreement collapses, while 33 per cent think there will be a re-election. 

Dr Wolf says most Kenyans are aware of the consequences of the collapse of the peace deal adding that many wanted to see it succeed.

On whether one political party, be it PNU or ODM, could run the government without the other, only nine per cent supported the view. Fifteen per cent are not sure what will happen if the deal collapses.

“Kenyans are aware of the accord and believe that the parties need each other to govern the country peacefully,” said Dr Wolf.

While half of Kenyans fear that the grand coalition may not last the full five-year term, the majority are not ready for another election any time soon.

According to the study, 55 per cent of Kenyans do not support another election before the end of five years. 

However, 41 per cent say they are ready for a snap election should the grand coalition fail to hold, while the remaining four per cent do not know.

It is apparent that many Kenyans still fear fresh election following the bungled December 27 General Election in which President Kibaki was announced the winner by the Electoral Commission, sparking widespread violence that left more than 1,200 people dead and about 350,000 others displaced. (Related story on Page 5)

“Those who do not want a repeat election any time soon are of the view that it might trigger another wave of violence,” said Dr Wolf. 

Asked to state the main cause of the violence, 65 per cent of Kenyans believed the announcement of President Kibaki as the winner triggered the violence in the Rift Valley, Western, Nyanza, Coast and Nairobi.

Other reasons are long-term grievances about land (12 per cent), hostility between communities (11 per cent), rivalry between local politicians (six per cent), the gap between the rich and the poor (two per cent) and other reasons (three per cent).

On whether a new constitution will be realised given the signing of the peace accord, majority of the respondents expressed skepticism with  only 16 per cent mostly certain of a new document compared to 27 per cent who are mostly uncertain. 

About 48 per cent are somewhat certain that the country will have a new constitution, while the remaining percentage do not know.

The majority of those interviewed also support a complete overhaul of  the Electoral Commission of Kenya and are of the view that the commissioners should resign over their handling of the December 27 General Election. The percentage of those who do not have confidence in ECK, according to the study, had risen from a low of eight per cent in November last year to a high of 61 per cent late last month.

Political future

If  uncertain political future were to result to an early election, about 45 per cent of  Kenyans would support that it be held between six months and two years, between two years and five years (29 per cent), next six months (25 per cent). The remaining percentage refused to answer.

An overwhelming majority (88 per cent) support the resettlement of internally displaced persons as a priority for the new Government but only 24 per cent believe that the affected people will be able to return.

Despite the record seven per cent economic growth achieved last year, many Kenyans doubt the economy will record positive growth given rising inflation.

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Kenya: Deal after deal, but will it stick?

Posted by africanpress on April 12, 2008

Publisher: Korir, API africanpress@getmail.no source.standard.ke

What’s in the new deal?

 By Sunday Standard Team

President Kibaki and Prime Minister-designate Raila Odinga met at Sagana State Lodge, Nyeri, and could have sealed a deal. They met away from the glare of cameras and allies always tugging at their coattails. The meeting lasted over six hours.

It is believed the President freed some of the ministries in contention to Raila’s side, and that the two also agreed to a reduced Cabinet of 20.

If it sticks, then the two leaders would each pick 10 ministers instead of 20 as per last month’s deal. It is anticipated the new line-up could be named either Sumday or Monday.

It is also believed they could have agreed that Raila, in his position as Prime Minister once the Cabinet is formed, would fill the positions in the hands of eight Permanent Secretaries who are past the mandatory retirement age of 55.

The agenda on the table was, who takes which ministry, Raila’s latest demand that ODM should get its slice of choice Civil Service and parastatal jobs, and the size of the Cabinet.

In contention are four ministries ODM says were unfairly taken by Kibaki’s side, even after agreement they would have in compensation for ceding Internal security, Finance and Justice and Constitutional Affairs.

Kibaki and Raila landed at the secluded lodge, about 170km from Nairobi, shortly after 10am. They flew out shortly after 6:20pm.

In separate military choppers, not far apart, the two leaders over flew Gatanga at 6:40 pm, on the way to Nairobi, as news of the meeting spread with fresh speculation on whether whatever deal they struck would hold.

Kibaki was the first to arrive at Sagana followed by Raila ten minutes later. The choppers were left in an opening in the forested region and then they were driven to the lodge. Raila was driven in a Toyota Prado registration KAU 419L, as security kept journalists away from the entrance. Kibaki waved at locals who watched as he left the chopper for the lodge.

Standard Group Nyeri Regional Editor, Mr Patrick Mathangani, who was within the precincts of the lodge, reported seeing only two senior government officials from the fence. They were the Head of the Civil Service Mr Francis Muthaura and Presidential Press Service director, Mr Isaiya Kabira. Security personnel were tight-lipped.

Contentious issues

 

According to the latest ODM statement only five ministries are contentious. They are Local Government, Foreign Affairs, Energy, Transport and Cabinet Affairs.

Orange Democratic Movement had initially agreed to a 40-member Cabinet, which the President’s side settled for after climbing down from 44. But ODM switched to 34 after it claimed Kibaki’s Party of National Unity had reserved key ministries to itself, ostensibly according to Raila, to reduce it to a passenger in government.

Kibaki and Raila promised the country a coalition Cabinet after meeting on April 3. According to their programme the Cabinet would have been named on April 5 and sworn-in yesterday. But the plans became a cropper; to the point Kibaki camped at Harambee House, with Raila snubbing him. Raila said then his party’s concessions had reached the “irreducible minimum”, and it was the President’s turn to reciprocate by ceding the five ministries.

ODM also added the line the key ministries were largely in the hands of ministers and permanent secretaries from central Kenya.

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Kenya at a standstill – Will it colapse?

Posted by africanpress on April 12, 2008

Publisher: Korir, api africanpress@getmail.no source.standard.ke

By Saturday Standard Team
Today is the historic day that never was. If all had gone as planned the coalition Cabinet would have been sworn in at Uhuru Park.
Today, President Kibaki is waiting for Prime Minister-designate Raila Odinga so they finalise discussions on ‘portfolio balance’.

Raila, on the other hand, says he is waiting for a letter from the President replying to his claim to more weighty ministries, and a slice of Public Service jobs.

The President said there would be no such letter coming. Kibaki’s side declares it does not fear a repeat election, and that Raila is not after power sharing, but a take-over.

The Orange Democratic Movement, too, says it does not fear an election and urges the Party of National Unity to ‘bring it on’.

This then ups the stakes, showing ministries in contention are held by persons from the Mount Kenya region.

“It is unacceptable that at a time when we are walking a historic path towards a new dawn for our land, our government continues to be saddled by gross ethnic and regional imbalance,’’ said the party in a statement, Friday.

It then listed the ministers and permanent secretaries occupying the positions under contention.

Then Raila steps in, Friday mid-morning at the burial of Clerk of the National Assembly Samuel Ndindiri. He borrows from his cache of parables.

Yesterday it was about the rat and the trap, and the tragic consequences to the animal world. Man lays the trap, the rat sees it, and tells the hen, which gives it a cursory glance, as the goat and cow that the rodent talked to next.

At night the trap caught a snake, that later bit the man when he turned up for his catch. In quick succession those the rat warned were slaughtered, according to the number of mourners, as food. On funeral day the cow went down, the last victim of the inaction in the animal world. Moral: The monster can swallow even those who think they won’t be touched.

Raila coached his words to assure the nation the deal was not lost. “The talks have not collapsed. They have only been suspended so that I can talk to my people and President Kibaki to do the same,’’ Raila said.

He added: “We had reached the end of a cliff. When we saw a big hole a head we reversed and agreed to talk.” “We had reached the end of a cliff. When we saw a big hole ahead, we reversed and agreed to talk,” said Raila.

Ping-pong style
 

He was in Komothai, as the ODM Director of Communications released another statement, which like the day before, would get the response from the Government spokesman Dr Alfred Mutua. Again it was on portfolio balance.

“Just as with the Cabinet, these senior positions must also reflect the diverse face of our nation. At the moment, this is not the case, and is a source of immense concern. These issues remain on the table to be discussed,’’ said Mr Lone.

He added: “On the basis of the portfolio balance we proposed, only five ministries are now at issue – Local Government, Foreign Affairs, Energy, Transport and Cabinet Affairs. We had gone to our very maximum in earlier negotiations by giving up the key Finance and Internal Security portfolios, even though we had previously insisted that one of these must come to us. That is why we refer to our position now as the ‘irreducible minimum’”.

Mutua gets wind of ODM’s latest statement, and in the ping-pong style that has characterised the proxy wars between Kibaki and Raila.

It came out on Thursday a week after Kibaki and Raila told the nation the Cabinet was coming last Sunday.

Then Mutua said: “Hon Raila Odinga has publicly said the gap is narrow and the President and Hon Odinga should bridge it. Therefore, President Kibaki, as he said on Monday evening, is ready to meet Hon Raila Odinga at any time to resolve these matters and nothing or anyone should hold them back.”

“… It is important that President Kibaki and Prime Minister-designate Raila Odinga meet one on one, as they have done in the past, and as soon as possible without pre-conditions, to conclude this matter once and for all. The President is ready.”

Yesterday, Lone said: “The other point I want to address is the assertion yesterday by Government Spokesman Alfred Mutua that new conditions by ODM are not acceptable to PNU, and that there should be no pre-conditions. I am afraid Dr Mutua is wrong on both these counts.”

“As I am sure you will all agree, each time a meeting between the President and the Prime Minister-designate is announced, Kenyans breathe a sigh of relief. But when nothing concrete emerges, there is huge let down and even anger and frustration. In neither letter was there a hint of new conditions or any pre-conditions.”

Mutua’s response included the paragraphs: “The Government welcomes today’s statement by ODM that they have no pre-conditions to the ongoing consultations, which are advancing well.”

“It is very clear that it is the wish of President Kibaki, Prime Minister-designate Raila Odinga and the people of Kenya that the Cabinet be formed as quickly as possible so as to allow the Government to concentrate on the resettlement of internally displaced persons and the development agenda.”

Re-run
 

In Komothai, as the Catholic Church opposed calls for a re-run between Kibaki and Raila, Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka, who came third in last year’s elections, told mourners he believes by joining Kibaki after defeat he helped salvage Kenya.

The President was missing at the burial, which would have seen him shake hands with Raila, against the backdrop of the standoff that has kept the country in suspense for ten days today. That is beside the four months characterised by killings, displacements, destruction, and the arduous task of negotiations. But the President was missing in action and the glare of the camera was on Kalonzo and Raila.

“I know the President is not sleeping. He is agonising over these things. I know he is eager to complete this matter,” said Kalonzo.

Raila left before the ceremony ended and the congregation was given the impression he had an appointment with Kibaki, but that was not to be. Then again the country was gripped by another gale of speculation – the KBC Television was at 7pm going to break the news the President had named his 20 ministers. But the item was not on the KBC radio and television news running order. It was just another of those stories that have kept popping up, even in the most unlikely of places, as a nation stuck in the mud waits for the coalition Cabinet that would hopefully heal the country.

On the day Kenyans would have been witnessing the swearing-in of the Cabinet, as agreed to by leaders who now do not directly talk to each other, the nation is again on suspense. The fear of a fresh flare-up of violence is in many hearts. The question on every lip is: ‘why can’t they just talk and agree, Kibaki and Raila?”

This came through Budalang’i MP Mr Ababu Namwamba on behalf of the party Friday: “We

conceded some very key portfolios like Finance, Internal Security and Defence to PNU. We reluctantly but graciously acceded to PNU’s demand for an expanded Cabinet of 40 to help Hon Kibaki satisfy the delicate balancing act in his political conglomerate. It should be appreciated that we have now hit ground zero, and do not have any more space to cede.”

He added: “Our demand for reconstitution of the entire government must therefore be seen in the context of the very urgent need to de-tribalise the Public Service which, as currently constituted, is heavily skewed in favour of persons from the Mt Kenya region.

On February 28, Kibaki and Raila walked out of a meeting with chief mediator Dr Kofi Annan to sign a power sharing deal that is now law. Thirty-nine days later the ‘deal’ has not even taken baby steps. Kenya is in a state of suspended animation. It is the Tower of Babel. It is moving in circles, and as it happens to men and women who turn on the same spot many times, dizziness and fatigue take charge. The nation’s patience is at its lowest.

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Kibaki and Raila have struck a deal on Cabinet reports Aljazeera

Posted by africanpress on April 12, 2008

Publisher: Korir, api africanpress@getmail.no

 

Saturday evening update!

Aljazeera reports that Kibaki and Raila have just reached a deal on the formation of the cabinet today evening.

This is good news for the Kenyan people. The hope, however, is that this time they allow the deal to last and give the Kenyan people the much needed stability.

If they have agreed it now remains to be seen which party gets what and when the cabinet will be sworn in.

The two men, Kibaki and Raila are said to distrust one another and there is fear that the deal may break into pieces if ODM starts to behave as if they have the executive powers.,

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Now Raila and ODM has realised that conditions will take away their opportunity to be ministers

Posted by africanpress on April 12, 2008

Publisher Korir, api africanpress@getmail.no source.Ke.government.

It was that Kibaki did not entertain nonsense when he refused to start engaging in letter writting and forming of committees as proposed by ODM leader on Monday. Now they have been given no choice but to yield and get back on track without demanding too much.

The danger here was that they wanted even the power to be the one to employ the ambassadors and High Commissioners. If the ODM is given foreign affairs, we will see Kenyan ambassadors shifted and replaced from those coming from one tribe.

Government Welcomes ODM’s Position of no Pre-conditions

The Government welcomes today’s statement by ODM that they have no pre-conditions to the ongoing consultations which are advancing well.

As earlier stated, the coalition is a partnership which will evolve with time. Many issues and partnership arrangements will be resolved and shared within the Coalition Government once it is formed.

It is very clear that it is the wish of President Mwai Kibaki, Prime Minister-designate Hon. Raila Odinga and the people of Kenya that the New Cabinet be formed as quickly as possible so as to allow the Government to concentrate on the resettlement of Internally Displaced Kenyans (IDP’s) and the development agenda.

 


Dr. Alfred N. Mutua
Public Communications Secretary &
Government Spokesperson
 

April 11, 2008

18:15 hrs.

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