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Kenya: U.S. to Help Strengthen PM Role
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The East African Standard (Nairobi)
27 April 2008
Posted to the web 28 April 2008
Dennis Onyango
Nairobi
The United States government is promising maximum support for the Office of the Prime Minister saying it has a critical role in ensuring the success of the Grand Coalition Government
Out of the crisis that gripped the country at the beginning of the year, America sees hope for democracy.
The super power dismisses fears that Kenya could be regressing like Zimbabwe.
This is why it's promising to work closely with the Office of The Prime Minister, that will be overseeing other ministries.
America is promising stronger ties to the civil society to sustain democracy.
"What happened in Kenya gives us hope. Kenya has a strong civil society, media and highest level of education in Africa. That is why it never degenerated into a civil war when the crisis struck. Its institutions stood firm.
The fact that Kenya has been tested this way shows it has a future. No amount of pressure would have changed things here without pressure from Kenyans pushing their leaders, US ambassador in Kenya Michael Ranneberger said.
Working closely
In an interview with The Sunday Standard the US Ambassador said his country is putting "a lot of hope" in the PM's office because of the role the Constitution has assigned it to co-ordinate and supervise government ministries.
"In a government this large, the role of the Prime Minister is going to be critical. We will work very closely with the Prime Minister in co-ordinating and supervising the Government," the ambassador said.
He added: "We recognise that critical role, and that is why we are ready to give money to strengthen the office."
But how long, or whether the coalition will hold is something the ambassador remains non-committal on, insisting that focus will be on achieving the urgent reforms.
Talking against the background of tension between the PM and Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka over the pecking order in government, the ambassador said focusing on that order in terms of 1-2-3 serves little purpose.
"What is important is that the President has his power clearly spelt out, the V-P has his role as Leader of Government Business in the House. We like to look at the President as head of one party and the PM of the other, working together in a coalition," the ambassador said.
"The main partners in this coalition are Kibaki's PNU and Mr Odinga's ODM. ODM-Kenya is a small party that received less than a million votes in the polls. The reason the Cabinet slots have been shared 50-50 between ODM and PNU is because they are the partners. ODM-Kenya had joined Kibaki earlier," he explained.
"Having talked with President Kibaki and the Prime Minister, I notice each realise that he can accomplish nothing without the other. I think this will last a while. It is true they need each other," Ranneberger said, adding, "PNU cannot pass legislation without ODM, nor can ODM do it without PNU. They need each other even for the Government to be seen to represent all Kenyans."
The ambassador also announced that the US had invited Prime Minister Raila Odinga to Washington "at a mutually convenient date".
Raila, Ranneberger said, was being invited to the US because of the importance Washington attaches to his role as the one "constitutionally required to supervise and co-ordinate the activities of government".
The ambassador said he remained in close touch with Kibaki, adding that the President had been to the US before.
"We are inviting the PM so that we can review assistance here and show that we can co-ordinate closely. The US has such a large partnership with Kenya and we want to ensure it is properly co-ordinated," he elaborated.
The ambassador spoke soon after announcing the US had committed $500,000 (Sh30.5 million) to support the development of the PM's office.
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Part of the "large partnership" the ambassador was talking about includes some $2 billion (Sh122 million) that flows from the US to Kenya every year.
While some members of the Grand Coalition have lamented a lack of clarity on the PM's role in government, the ambassador says he is convinced they are well spelt out.
Critical role
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Who made Ranneberger the Kenya spokesman and the know it all on all matters Kenyan? If he loves us that much ,let him go campaign for Obama. We know where his loyalties lie--with MacCain the Republican candidate with his mentor, the hawkish Bush who is responsible for the mess kenya is in with the wretched of the earth -the IDPS- forgotten. If Ranneberger really loves Kenyans, he should have made resettlement of the IDPS a condition before a new cabinet could be announced.After all his government is an expert on conditionalities? And how patriotic are these civil society groups... [Read Full Text]
Ranneberger may not be Kenya's spokesman but he has stated important issues here that cannot be ignored. Apart from helping us understand how the PM's office will operate, he has also touched on issues about reform that need to be put in place as soon as possible to help us move forward. If you have been watching the news closely, you should be able to decipher the fact that people are asking for equality. Building police stations will not solve the IDP problem. People have to see justice done at all levels. Am not condoning what happened in Eld, but... [Read Full Text]
No one has bared the brunt of the security agents like Mungiki at least in riftvalley they are being arrested and they hope that they will appear in court soon. But for mungiki they are kindnapped tortured and then killed. I hope you saw the news last night about the two suspects who were executed by the police. Forget the police theory that they are kiling themselves it is just a police way turning the heat from themselves. I have not heard any ngo seeking for justice for these young men. Most of them are innocent thats why the police... [Read Full Text]
While I agree that the ambassador of the US should not play spokesman for our country I feel that we should stop looking for scapegoats. The IDPs are a result of some leaders greed, needless to go into the details. So we should not be oversensitive and always react to any thing said the way I see done here. The US ambassador is justifying the funds they are giving for the PMs office, period.
So let's start bulding our nation and not keep playing the blaming game we are all so good at. This way ambassadors from other countries will... [Read Full Text]
Poor Raila: Now he has to be validated by foreigners. who OWN Kenya and dictate the terms for governance.
Is the valiant spirit of the ODM dead?
Is the ODM scrambling to find new leaders that have the conviction to stand firm for the people's aspirations and yearning to be free from those within and without who would harm Kenya?
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