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Kenya: Cabinet Posts - Stop These Power Games
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The Nation (Nairobi)
EDITORIAL
27 March 2008
Posted to the web 26 March 2008
The stalemate over the formation of a new Cabinet is purely driven by selfish interests. It has nothing to do with governance and the well-being of Kenyans.
The matter is clear. PNU, wants an expanded Cabinet to accommodate its supporters. ODM, on the other hand, is fighting for "prime" ministries so that its members can feel they have power.
For a start, we reject the proposal of a bloated Cabinet. Ideally, the country should not have more than 25 ministers and an equal number of deputies with substantive portfolios. Bigger economies like the US and South Africa have far fewer ministries, but their systems have never failed.
However, recognising the difficult conditions the country finds itself in and given the tight political manoeuvring the key players have to go through, they should consider just about 30 ministers.
At any rate, during their campaigns last year, both sides promised to keep a lean but working Cabinet.
The underlying principle is clear. The economy cannot sustain a bloated Cabinet. Not when legislators already cost taxpayers billions of shillings in remuneration and other entitlements. Matters are worse when some of the proposed ministries are too inconsequential to be even departments.
Secondly, President Kibaki and Mr Odinga committed themselves to certain things - power-sharing and portfolio balance.
When they penned their signatures to this arrangement, they knew what they were doing. They did this without the hangers-on, who are now coming up with all sorts of spurious demands.
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The two principals must live true to the principle they committed themselves to, and they must shun those pushing them in the opposite direction.
At the end of the day, the success of the power-sharing deal rests with them, and they must be ready to shoulder the blame if the deal fail.
Thus, they must quickly go back to the discussion table and consummate the deal, guided by the noble principle of giving this country a lean, efficient and working Cabinet.
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