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Parliament to reconvene to enact
deal into law, says President
Daily Nation
Story by OLIVER MATHENGE
29. Feb. 2008
President Kibaki announced that Parliament would reconvene next
Thursday to enable the enaction of the agreement reached Thursday
into law.
He said the move would also allow the two sides to play their
roles in national reconciliation and development.
He asked Kenyans to fully embrace and support the comprehensive
review of the Constitution.
“We are determined that this process should yield results which
will be acceptable to all Kenyans. With the lessons learnt from
the past and through the goodwill of our people, I am confident
that we will complete the process or reviewing our Constitution,”
he added.
President Kibaki appreciated Kenyans’ patience during the five
weeks in which the mediation process has been going on.
The President said that the process was aimed at restoring
normalcy in the country after the disputed election results caused
chaos.
“We recognised that our country was faced by complex political
challenges and that is why we initiated the dialogue in order to
restore peace and resolve the political challenges. At the very
onset, I thank the Kenyan people for exhibiting patience as we
embarked on this journey of dialogue,” the President said.
Important point
He added that the process was an important point in Kenya’s
history as it had reminded the country that “as a nation there are
more issues that unite than divide us”.
“We have been reminded that we must do all in our power to
safeguard the peace that is the foundation of our national unity,
social cohesion, economic growth and political stability. Kenya
has room for all of us if we could enhance peace and tolerance.
And fellow Kenyans today, we stand before you and give our solemn
commitment of being at the forefront in the efforts to safeguard
that peace,” the President said.
The President expressed his happiness at the signing of the
agreement, marking the success of the talks, ably chaired by
former UN secretary-general Mr Kofi Annan.
“I wish to most sincerely thank Mr Annan, and their Excellencies
Benjamin Mkapa and Graca Machel for the efforts dispensed in this
process. I also wish to thank the Current chair of the AU and
Tanzania President Jakaya Kikwete, his predecessor President John
Kufuor and the international community as a whole for all their
efforts. As a neighbour and a friend, I pay tribute to President
Kikwete for finding time to come and help us in finding a good
solution. Asante Sana,” he said.
KIbaki acknowledged that there would be challenges in the
implementation of the agreement but expressed confidence that it
would be through dialogue and a sense of unity that Kenyans would
succeed.
The President restated the government’s commitment to the
implementation of the agreement until the desired results were
achieved. In his speech he indicated that it was a partnership
between PNU/ODM-K on the one hand and ODM on the other.
Negative ethnicity
“The agreement we have reached forms a comprehensive partnership
between the government coalition and ODM. The new partnership will
strengthen the government to address the challenges facing our
country more comprehensively. It is important that in particular,
we deal with the problem of negative ethnicity, national cohesion
and unity,” Kibaki said.
In his off the cuff remarks, the president called on Kenyans to
coexist and pledged that the government would help those affected
by the violence to rebuild their lives. He encouraged tourists to
visit the country and enjoy themselves because Kenya would remain
a peaceful country.
What President Mwai Kibaki and ODM leader Raila Odinga agreed
on
The following is the text of the agreement signed Thursday by
President Kibaki and ODM leader Raila Odinga to end Kenya’s
political crisis.
The pact was witnessed by Mr Kofi Annan, the chief mediator, and
Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, who is also the chairman of
the African Union.
Preamble
The crisis triggered by the 2007 disputed presidential election
has brought to the surface deep-seated and long-standing divisions
within Kenyan society. If left unaddressed, these divisions
threaten the very existence of Kenya as a unified country. The
Kenyan people are now looking to their leaders to ensure that
their country will not be lost.
Given the current situation, neither side can realistically govern
the country without the other. There must be real power-sharing to
move the country forward and begin the healing and reconciliation
process.
With this agreement, we are stepping forward together, as
political leaders, to overcome the current crisis and to set the
country on a new path. As partners in a coalition government, we
commit ourselves to work together in good faith as true partners,
through constant consultation and willingness to compromise.
This agreement is designed to create an environment conducive to
such a partnership and to build mutual trust and confidence. It is
not about creating positions that reward individuals. It seeks to
enable Kenya’s political leaders to look beyond partisan
considerations with a view to promoting the greater interests of
the nation as a whole. It provides the means to implement a
coherent and far-reaching reform agenda, to address the
fundamental root causes of recurrent conflict and to create a
better, secure and prosperous Kenya for all.
To resolve the political crisis, and in the spirit of coalition
and partnership, we have agreed to enact the National Accord and
Reconciliation Act 2008, whose provisions have been agreed upon in
their entirety by the parties hereto and a draft copy thereof is
appended hereto.
Its key points are:
There will be a prime minister of the Government of Kenya, with
authority to coordinate and supervise the execution of the
functions and affairs of the Government of Kenya.
The prime minister will be an elected member of the National
Assembly and the parliamentary leader of the largest party in the
National Assembly, or of a coalition, if the largest party does
not command a majority.
Each member of the coalition shall nominate one person from the
National Assembly to be appointed a deputy prime minister.
The Cabinet will consist of the President, the Vice-President, the
prime minister, the two deputy prime ministers and the other
ministers.
The removal of any minister of the coalition will be subject to
consultation and concurrence in writing by the leaders.
The prime minister and deputy prime ministers can only be removed
if the National Assembly passes a motion of no confidence with a
majority vote.
The composition of the coalition government will at all times take
into account the principle of portfolio balance and will reflect
their relative parliamentary strength.
The coalition will be dissolved if the Tenth Parliament is
dissolved; or if the parties agree in writing; or if one coalition
partner withdraws from the coalition.
The National Accord and Reconciliation Act shall be entrenched in
the Constitution.
Having agreed on the critical issues above, we will now take this
process to Parliament. It will be convened at the earliest moment
to enact these agreements. This will be in the form of an Act of
Parliament and the necessary amendment to the Constitution.
We believe by these steps, we can together, in the spirit of
partnership bring peace and prosperity back to the people of Kenya
who so richly deserve it.
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