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Kenya: U.S. to Help Strengthen PM Role

Dennis Onyango

27 April 2008

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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.

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

"It is very clear. Any manager or business owner knows what it means to be supervisory and co-ordinator of activities in an organisation. The authority of the PM and the President are spelt out. There is no confusion. That is why before I could meet any of the ministers, I had to meet with him first, and I am glad that he assembled a large team of Cabinet colleagues for the meeting," Ranneberger said.

The US, the ambassador said, is tying its relationship with Kenya on the "full implementation of the national political accord," a task which he says will see the PM play a critical role.

The formation of the grand coalition, the ambassador said, is not the end, but a beginning.

"The reform agenda, which includes reform of the Constitution, addressing the land question and the ECK are critical and urgent, so that we do not have a repeat of what happened during the last elections. These reforms need to be carried out within the next 12-14 months," he said.

Like Dr Kofi Annan, the chief mediator in the peace talks, Ranneberger says the crisis has provided a chance for Kenya to tackle some of the things it has been wishing away.

Kenya, he said, would not have witnessed the violence if the Constitution had been reformed.

"If Kenya had an independent electoral body that was also transparent, what happened would not have happened. If the Constitution was properly structured to capture the new realities, there would have been a provision for a coalition government that could have been used immediately the crisis began," the ambassador said.

Challenges

Ranneberger says the violence was "overwhelmingly, almost absolutely" land related. Land reform, the ambassador said, is one of the most critical challenges the coalition faces.

"The violence was not about ethnic hatred. Some of it was a reaction to the disputed election results. But a tremendous amount of that violence was about land. Sometimes, it takes just a spark to trigger a mighty fire that was waiting to burn. That is what happened," Ranneberger said.

Land reform, the ambassador said, is part of the reason the PM is going to be critical, with his supervisory and co-ordinating role in government.

The ambassador says the land question will involve dealing with issues like population growth, surveys indicating who actually owns what and industrialisation so that all Kenyans do not have to depend on land for a living.

"Kenya may need some external technical assistance with this and we are ready to offer help. This could be one of the issues for the PM to explore in Washington," he said.

Already, the US has committed an additional $25 million (Sh1.5 billion) to support reconciliation, reform and return of displaced persons to their homes.

Resettlement of displaced people, the ambassador said, is urgent and cannot wait. But he said people could only return to their homes when they are assured it is safe, warning that it would not be achieved by building police stations.

Opposition

"People have to reconcile. That is why Raila and Kibaki are out there. Involve elders. Convince each other that there will be mutual benefits when everyone returns. If you are going to give seeds to members of the displaced Kikuyu community, there are schools and clinics children of the Kalenjin attend, rehabilitate those and let the good be shared. That is the way to reconcile communities."

Ranneberger also faulted the notion that there will be no Opposition with the formation of the Grand Coalition. He termed the MPs seeking to form an opposition within the House as "self-serving people who did not get positions in government."

"The Coalition has checks and balances built into it. No side can pass legislation without the other. The media and the civil society will also watch the Coalition. MPs need to get in line and start serving the Government. That is what Kenyans want. This is not the time to start looking for positions," the ambassador said.

"These MPs will be irresponsible if they become the ones causing more divisions in government. At some stage, depending on how this goes, there may be need for some Opposition. But now is not the time. It is way too early for that," he said.

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