Report: Leaders to blame for reform delays

South Consulting on Wednesday handed a damning report to the Grand Coalition Government over its performance, an action which is likely to shake government operations.

Sources said the report urges President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga to take charge of the affairs of the government and push through wide-ranging reforms to avoid a repeat of the 2007 elections crisis in future.

The firm was hired by the Panel of Eminent African Personalities, chaired by former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan.

The Kenya National Dialogue and Reconciliation Monitoring Project report also says most Kenyans want poll chaos suspects to be prosecuted either by a local tribunal or the International Criminal Court at The Hague.

President Kibaki, PM Odinga and Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka were among members of the permanent committee on the management of grand coalition who received the report at Nairobi's Harambee House.

Said a statement from the Presidential Press Services (PPS): “The permanent committee on the management of the grand coalition met today (Wednesday) under the chairmanship of President Mwai Kibaki and discussed the affairs of the Grand Coalition Government.

“During the meeting, a report by the Kenya National Dialogue and Reconciliation (KNDR) Monitoring Project was tabled and discussed.”

The PPS statement said the report focused on the progress in the “implementation of agreed goals of agenda one to four under the Serena mediated talks”.

The statement, however, did not give details of the report that pointed at the failures of the Grand Coalition Government, the challenges it faces and the threats that lie ahead unless remedial action was swiftly taken by President Kibaki and the PM.

The report, the outcome of a survey that involved more than 4,000 households in eight provinces, 70 districts and 126 constituencies, criticises the political elite for failing to steer the reform agenda.

The agenda was the basis of the National Accord that ended two months of violence that was prompted by last year’s disputed presidential election results.

The reforms that have been undertaken so far may not prevent the country from sliding into another abyss in the next General Election, the report warns.

According to sources, the report blames politicians for lacking commitment to fast- track reforms agreed to during the mediated talks that were chaired by Mr Annan.

The report says Kenyans believe that politicians were no longer eager to push through reforms after they shared power. The report urges President Kibaki and Mr Odinga to provide the leadership and direction the country needs to avoid mistakes of the past.

It also says that lack of steady leadership and clear direction, the report says, is to blame for the problems the coalition government faces.