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Kenya: Grand Coalition Government - There's Reason For Hope
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Arusha Times (Arusha)
OPINION
10 May 2008
Posted to the web 12 May 2008
Vincent Obiro Orute Obunga
Arusha
When news broke out that the grand coalition government in Kenya was going to have a bloated cabinet of 40 ministers, most Kenyans were critical of this. Some even went a head by saying that the grand coalition Government did not reflect the wishes of majority of Kenyans.
Nobel laureate Prof Wangari Maathai accused President Kibaki and ODM leader Raila Amollo Odinga of having failed to listen to majority of Kenyans who wanted a lean cabinet of not more than 24 cabinet ministers. But Prof Maathai was quick to admit that if the bloated cabinet was the only option to bring peace to Kenya, "then let Kenyans have it,"
But still, I recognise that it is time we Kenyans moved beyond apportioning blame. We must realize that after we are through with our endless blame game, we will still have major long- term political and economic issues to deal with.
What we need is a fiercely autonomous cabinet whose pursuit of political and economic stability will not be blinded by short- term considerations and expediencies of the political elites of the day.
We have behaved hypocritically when heap all the blame for the size of the grand coalition Government on individuals. We should judge the grand coalition Government by its performance and not its size.
My hope is that when the dust finally settles, the endless blame game we Kenyans have been playing will give way to sombre reflection of how we ended up in the mess we are now faced with in the first place.
How can we avoid a recurrence of the problematic situation in future? This is what we Kenyans should be asking ourselves.
For, at the end of the day, we have to recognise that the grand coalition Government will only achieve much, especially when you are operating in an environment of a Government with a huge appetite for political and economic reforms.
We must not forget that the confusion we are now faced with began when the electoral Commission failed completely to handle the electoral process.
Clearly, the electoral commission cannot be entirely blameless in this whole saga. It must be prepared to take its full share of responsibility for the mess.
That is the extent to which I am prepared to go with the apportioning blame. As far as I am concerned, all this is water under the bridge.
Instead, we Kenyans should be celebrating the fact that we now have a grand coalition Government in place. We should also be celebrating the fact that we are now faced with a much improved political situation.
What is the reason for optimism? Having watched the turn of events in the country for the last three months, I am convinced that the swearing in of ODM leader Raila Amollo Odinga as Kenya's second prime minister, Wycliffe Musalia Mudavadi and Uhuru Kenyatta as Deputy prime ministers as well as the swearing in of ODM ministers into the grand coalition Government, was a very important starting point on the way to return Kenya to political and economic stability.
The fact that James Aggrey Orengo, Kenya's brilliant Lawyer has been appointed minister for lands is yet another reason for optimism. As a lawyer, Orengo is second to none in Kenya.
Two important points came out clearly in the recent swearing ceremony.
For the first time in Kenya's political history, PNU members came out to state categorically, and to admit publicly that they were willing to work with their ODM counterparts in the grand coalition Government.
It was important for PNU members to come out and promise to put a lid on political and economic uncertainty that had prevailed in the country for a long time and to restore sanity in the political and economic landscape.
PNU members had to utter these strong words because one of the factors that had contributed to the prevailing negative sentiments in the political landscape in Kenya was the belief that PNU wanted to short change ODM in the grand coalition Government.
The rumour that PNU wanted to hold tenaciously to high profile ministries worsened the situation.
But what most Kenyans did not know was how the two protagonist .i.e. President Kibaki and ODM leader Raila wanted the grand coalition Government to look like.
That is why they decided to adopt a wait and see attitude, and kept Kenyans guessing without knowing exactly the shape the grand coalition Government was going to take.
Clearly, the sooner the grand coalition Government starts functioning, the better for the country.
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Vincent Obiro Orute Obunga is director of operations - Volunteer Network Africa, a global volunteer organization that is committed to social and economic change across the globe
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