Kenya Cabinet delay worries Annan
By BERNARD NAMUNANE and DAVE OPIYOLast updated: 3 hours ago
Former UN boss Kofi Annan who brokered a peace deal in Kenya a month ago has said he is disappointed by President Kibaki’s and Mr Raila Odinga’s failure to name a coalition government.
In a statement released in Nairobi, Mr Annan said the peace deal that the two signed on February 28 requires that they be equal partners in Government.
Quoting the national accord that the two leaders signed, Mr Annan said: “The Cabinet will be shared equally with appropriate portfolio balance, thus enabling each party to see itself as playing an equal role with the other partner.”
President Kibaki and the Prime Minister-designate, Mr Odinga have been unable to agree on the size of the Cabinet and how to share key ministries despite Parliament having unanimously passed the accord into law two weeks ago.
Mr Annan asked the two leaders to implement both the spirit and the letter of the agreement signed and to resolve the issue of number and the composition of the Government expeditiously, “since the main elements for concrete decisions already feature in the agreement”.
“The two principles should assume fully their joint responsibility and come to definite decisions for the sake of the Kenyan nation,” he said in a statement read by the mediation effort’s spokesman, Mr Nasser Ega-Musa of the UN.
The former UN chief “hopes that the Kenyan people will not be kept in suspense for much longer”.
Speaking today morning, MPs from the Orange Democratic Movement accused the PNU of erecting roadblocks on the path to a new Cabinet.
In one of the strongest statements since the national accord was signed, ODM MPs asked President Kibaki to ignore the advice of his close allies and nip in the bud growing public anxiety by immediately naming new ministers of the grand coalition.
Unless the highly awaited announcement of the cabinet was done, the ODM MPs warned that the country could easily be plunged back into political violence that rocked the country in January and February following the release of disputed Presidential election results.
The more than 20 MPs were led by Mvita MP Najib Balala, a member of ODM’s key decision making organ – the Pentagon – in publicly stating their frustrations with PNU.
“We are giving a warning that if this issue (naming of grand coalition cabinet) is not addressed properly, we risk the eruption of a new round of violence. President Kibaki should decisively name a cabinet without consulting his ministers,” said Mr Balala at Parliament Buildings.
He went on: “The President does not need to consult (Internal Security minister George) Saitoti and (Local Government minister Uhuru) Kenyatta over the new cabinet. The national accord obliges him to only consult Raila Odinga.”
By BERNARD NAMUNANE and DAVE OPIYOLast updated: 3 hours ago
Former UN boss Kofi Annan who brokered a peace deal in Kenya a month ago has said he is disappointed by President Kibaki’s and Mr Raila Odinga’s failure to name a coalition government.
In a statement released in Nairobi, Mr Annan said the peace deal that the two signed on February 28 requires that they be equal partners in Government.
Quoting the national accord that the two leaders signed, Mr Annan said: “The Cabinet will be shared equally with appropriate portfolio balance, thus enabling each party to see itself as playing an equal role with the other partner.”
President Kibaki and the Prime Minister-designate, Mr Odinga have been unable to agree on the size of the Cabinet and how to share key ministries despite Parliament having unanimously passed the accord into law two weeks ago.
Mr Annan asked the two leaders to implement both the spirit and the letter of the agreement signed and to resolve the issue of number and the composition of the Government expeditiously, “since the main elements for concrete decisions already feature in the agreement”.
“The two principles should assume fully their joint responsibility and come to definite decisions for the sake of the Kenyan nation,” he said in a statement read by the mediation effort’s spokesman, Mr Nasser Ega-Musa of the UN.
The former UN chief “hopes that the Kenyan people will not be kept in suspense for much longer”.
Speaking today morning, MPs from the Orange Democratic Movement accused the PNU of erecting roadblocks on the path to a new Cabinet.
In one of the strongest statements since the national accord was signed, ODM MPs asked President Kibaki to ignore the advice of his close allies and nip in the bud growing public anxiety by immediately naming new ministers of the grand coalition.
Unless the highly awaited announcement of the cabinet was done, the ODM MPs warned that the country could easily be plunged back into political violence that rocked the country in January and February following the release of disputed Presidential election results.
The more than 20 MPs were led by Mvita MP Najib Balala, a member of ODM’s key decision making organ – the Pentagon – in publicly stating their frustrations with PNU.
“We are giving a warning that if this issue (naming of grand coalition cabinet) is not addressed properly, we risk the eruption of a new round of violence. President Kibaki should decisively name a cabinet without consulting his ministers,” said Mr Balala at Parliament Buildings.
He went on: “The President does not need to consult (Internal Security minister George) Saitoti and (Local Government minister Uhuru) Kenyatta over the new cabinet. The national accord obliges him to only consult Raila Odinga.”
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