Nairobi — Cabinet has today approved the Independent Review Commission report on the 2007 General Election and appointed a 10-member committee to implement the recommendations.

The committee, which includes President Kibaki and the Prime Minister Raila Odinga is expected to make a report within 14 days.

The report

The Cabinet agreed to take a common approach in the implementation of the changes recommended in the report 'due to the importance of electoral reforms in the prosperity of the country'

The report will be tabled in parliament tomorrow.

Other members of the Cabinet implementation action plan committee are deputy Prime Ministers Musalia Mudavadi and Uhuru Kenyatta, cabinet ministers Martha Karua, William Ruto, Sam Ongeri, Mutula Kilonzo Sally Kosgey, Moses Wetangula and James Orengo.

According to a media brief from State House after today's meeting, Cabinet also stressed the need to address the long-term issues that came up under Agenda 4 of the National Peace and Dialogue talks at Serena hotel earlier in the year.

Agenda 4 deals with the long terms issues relating of the post-election violence. Over 1000 people lost their lives in the violence and a further 350,000 were displaced from their homes after Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) disputed the results of the December 2007 General Election that gave President Kibaki of the Party of National Unity (PNU) a second term in office.

Economic crisis

Meanwhile, the Cabinet has directed the Finance ministry to monitor the global financial crisis and how it is likely to affect the Kenyan economy, with the aim of taking measures to mitigate such effects.

Cabinet also approved the proposed salary reviews for constitutional office holders and retirement benefits for former MPs who served between 1963 and 2002 as one-off payment. The salary reviews for the constitutional office holders, legal staff of the Judiciary and State Law Office will be presented to parliament later for discussion.