COATION PARTNERS STEP UP WAR AGAINST EACH OTHER

DAILY NATION
NAIROBI, KENYA
April 6, 2009
By OLIVER MATHENGE and LUCAS BARASA

The partners in the coalition government went to the Kilaguni retreat on Saturday with two different agendas. On Sunday, they came back with two conflicting stories and three agendas.

But it was quite clear that the differences are many, some grave and weighty, others petty and irksome. There was a dispute over the allocation of rooms, for example, regarding who was to occupy which room at the Kilaguni Serena Safari Lodge, in the Tsavo National Park, where the meeting was to take place.

“They were beyond petty,” Nairobi Metropolitan minister Mutula Kilonzo said of the leaders. “They were even questioning why they can’t sleep where the President was sleeping.” Mr Kilonzo, a member of the Serena negotiating team, was kicked out of the meeting because he is not a member of the coalition management committee.

Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta on Sunday warned that the government would have difficulties tackling problems facing the country if the coalition partners did not resolve their differences. “By the time Parliament resumes, we must as a government be able to stand as one.

It is unfortunate that ODM issued a press statement on their own and gave facts that are not correct,” said Mr Kenyatta at a PNU press conference in Nairobi. Some of the problems facing Kenya include a weakening economy and widespread famine which has left about 10 million people in need of relief food.

The Orange party was categorical that the Kilaguni meeting collapsed because PNU was unwilling to confront issues of reform and power sharing.

A document, said to have been Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s notes for the opening remarks he never got to make and which was issued by his office, makes it clear that the party was not seeking a renegotiation of the National Accord, but its full implementation.

It also said the party sought discussion on how to move forward long term reforms in the accord, popularly known as Agenda Four. “What needs to be done is to implement the provisions of the National Accord. Non-implementation of this accord, not its flaws, is the source of paralysis in government,” the notes said.

The PM said the accord should be put into practice in letter and spirit to ensure unity and “make all parts of Kenya feel part of the government”. And, PNU was equally indignant at its press conference on Sunday and accused their coalition partner of being more interested in accumulating power than the welfare of Kenya.

Power-sharing

“ODM wanted to discuss issues relating to protocol, power-sharing, appointments in government including in the military and portfolio balance. Our partners have even proposed a new draft agreement of the coalition,” said Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka at the PNU press briefing on Sunday.

But Lands minister James Orengo said PNU refused to discuss an agenda that had been agreed on two weeks before Saturday’s aborted meeting of the Cabinet Coalition Management Committee at Kilaguni Lodge in the Tsavo.

He said that PNU arrived at the meeting with a watered-down version of the agenda agreed earlier and insisted that the meeting discuss that, forcing ODM to come up with their own list of items they wanted discussed. Mr Orengo accused PNU of being involved in “indiscipline, bad manners, lies and hypocrisy”.

ODM is to hold its parliamentary group meeting on Tuesday. The Saturday retreat that was to be co-chaired by President Kibaki and Mr Odinga but did not kick off after the two sides failed to agree on the meeting’s agenda. Each had its own agenda, despite the Permanent Committee on the Management of the Grand Coalition having a joint secretariat to handle such matters.

During the retreat, ODM wanted to discuss management of the grand coalition, membership of the management committee, decision-making and government communication, appointments in government and protocol.

PNU wanted to discuss the options of implementing the Waki report, a review of the implementation of the national accord and the fast-tracking of the implementation of reforms envisaged in Agenda 4.

Led by Mr Musyoka, PNU claimed that ODM wanted to use the retreat to discuss issues relating to individuals rather than national matters. PNU also accused ODM of planning to hijack the meeting to renegotiate the national accord. PNU produced a document, purportedly prepared for a meeting to be held at Nairobi's Harambee House at an unspecified date in March, forming ODM’s draft agenda.

The document showed that ODM allegedly wanted to discuss matters pertaining to individuals in government including Chief Justice Evan Gicheru, Police Commissioner Maj-Gen Hussein Ali and Government Spokesman Dr Alfred Mutua.
The PNU leaders did not seem clear whether there was an agreed agenda for the retreat. Mr Musyoka said that it was wrong for the coalition to go for a meeting without having an agreed agenda. On Thursday, the VP addressed a press conference to outline what he said was the agenda of the retreat.

Internal Security Minister and PNU chairperson, Prof George Saitoti, said the secretariat had already prepared an agenda which PNU had agreed to. He added that the deadlock was caused by the two sides showing up with their own agenda and being unable to harmonise the two documents.

“The joint secretariat had prepared a draft agenda which PNU agreed to in writing. But when we got to Kilaguni we were issued with another agenda and the problem arose in trying to merge the two agendas,” said Prof Saitoti. Transport Minister Chirau Mwakwere who is also part of the permanent committee said ODM was being “arrogant and inconsiderate”.