Kenyan media dismiss cabinet as ‘uninspiring’

NAIROBI – Kenyan media yesterday slammed President Mwai Kibaki’s new cabinet as a uninspiring club of his long-time allies and ineffective loyalists.

The country’s newspapers said the new 30-member line-up named late Wednesday fell short of reflecting the wishes of the majority of Kenyans, who decisively rejected a draft constitution he backed on November 21. But at least 10 deputy ministers have shunned their appointments.”What he (Kibaki) did not address was individual merit, which was unfortunate, and the need for reconciliation,” Nairobi’s mass-circulation Daily Nation said in an editorial.”Compared to the last cabinet, which had some of the most highly-qualified people in Kenya, some names in the new ones are uninspiring,” the Nation said.It added: “Apparently, merit was sacrificed at the altar of loyalty and the quest for adherence to collective accountability.”The daily’s chief rival, The Standard, said the cabinet faced a test in the absence of influential former roads minister Raila Odinga and six of his colleagues who were not reappointed after the entire cabinet was fired last month.Instead, Kibaki named his allies, but refused to reappoint graft-tainted ex-transport minister Chris Murungaru, who is subject to US and Britain travel bans for alleged corrupt activities.”It terms of the people’s expectations, therefore, the president’s line-up amounts to a kick on the teeth for Kenyans,” the Standard’s editorialist said.The daily said the cabinet is not anywhere near what Kibaki, who came to power in early 2003 after trouncing long-serving the Kenya African National Union (KANU), aimed for a lean, compact government.”It also remains to be seen how the new government will go about the business of healing the wounds created by the bitter campaigns for the referendum, which polarised the country and (entrenched) sharp divisions among communities,” Standard added.The opposition-backed Kenya Times charged some appointees also lacked a basic understanding of government operations.”Many of them are illiterate, have dubious backgrounds and have not acquitted themselves when it comes to understanding development and the economy that the president generously talked about,” a columnist wrote in the Times.Kibaki fired the cabinet on November 23, a day after conceding defeat on the constitution that was rejected by nearly 60 per cent of voters.Several former ministers, along with Kibaki’s political foes, vehemently opposed the new charter as it retained near-absolute powers in the presidency and defied popular demands for significant authority to be given to a prime minister.- Nampa-AFPBut at least 10 deputy ministers have shunned their appointments.”What he (Kibaki) did not address was individual merit, which was unfortunate, and the need for reconciliation,” Nairobi’s mass-circulation Daily Nation said in an editorial.”Compared to the last cabinet, which had some of the most highly-qualified people in Kenya, some names in the new ones are uninspiring,” the Nation said.It added: “Apparently, merit was sacrificed at the altar of loyalty and the quest for adherence to collective accountability.”The daily’s chief rival, The Standard, said the cabinet faced a test in the absence of influential former roads minister Raila Odinga and six of his colleagues who were not reappointed after the entire cabinet was fired last month.Instead, Kibaki named his allies, but refused to reappoint graft-tainted ex-transport minister Chris Murungaru, who is subject to US and Britain travel bans for alleged corrupt activities.”It terms of the people’s expectations, therefore, the president’s line-up amounts to a kick on the teeth for Kenyans,” the Standard’s editorialist said.The daily said the cabinet is not anywhere near what Kibaki, who came to power in early 2003 after trouncing long-serving the Kenya African National Union (KANU), aimed for a lean, compact government.”It also remains to be seen how the new government will go about the business of healing the wounds created by the bitter campaigns for the referendum, which polarised the country and (entrenched) sharp divisions among communities,” Standard added.The opposition-backed Kenya Times charged some appointees also lacked a basic understanding of government operations.”Many of them are illiterate, have dubious backgrounds and have not acquitted themselves when it comes to understanding development and the economy that the president generously talked about,” a columnist wrote in the Times.Kibaki fired the cabinet on November 23, a day after conceding defeat on the constitution that was rejected by nearly 60 per cent of voters.Several former ministers, along with Kibaki’s political foes, vehemently opposed the new charter as it retained near-absolute powers in the presidency and defied popular demands for significant authority to be given to a prime minister.- Nampa-AFP