Zimbabwe deal and Mwatela saga put Raila on the spot

The power-sharing deal in Zimbabwe and the transfer of Central Bank deputy governor Jacinta Mwatela have conspired to rekindle the big debate of whether or not ODM is at the centre of power.

A close look at the Zimbabwe accord shows that Morgan Tsvangirai of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change might have negotiated a better deal than ODM leader Raila Odinga, although it is no guarantee that President Robert Mugabe will honour his part of the bargain.

But it is the removal of Mrs Mwatela from CBK that has once again put the Prime Minster in focus. Investigations by the Saturday Nation reveal that Mr Odinga might have been ambushed, contrary to his public utterances that he is in constant consultation with President Kibaki.

Coming soon soon after he flexed his muscles by making some changes in government, most of Mr Odinga’s supporters expected him to take up the Mwatela case.  

Before her transfer, Mr Odinga had directly intervened in the Kenya Ports Authority saga, relieving managing director Abdallah Mwaruwa of his duties, and installed Mr Brown Ondego as the executive chairman of the troubled Rift Valley Railways.

Performance contracts

He had also signed the performance contracts of Cabinet ministers, parastatal heads and permanent secretaries, which in essence means that he will be responsible for their appraisal, thereby debunking the earlier feeling within ODM that he was given a post without powers.

Budalang’i MP Ababu Namwamba, who is a leading proponent of the proposed so-called grand opposition, says the Mwatela saga raises questions as to exactly how much leeway the Raila party has and if the Prime Minster has executive powers or presumptive ones.

“Sometimes you get alarmed when certain things happen,” he says.

“Although those in government believe that the partners can check each other and there is no need for opposition, etiquette and universal standards of collective responsibility cannot allow them to challenge each other on issues without appearing to rock the boat.”

According to Mr Namwamba, the manner in which the Mwatela issue is being handled and the way the Government is making changes in the civil service, shows that impunity is still the order of the day and that the Kibaki administration is yet to come to terms with the power-sharing accord.

But ODM chief whip Jakoyo Midiwo says the media should not read too much in the Mwatela affair, arguing that it has no bearing on the power-sharing deal.

As he puts it, “the Constitution is clear that it is the President who appoints the (CBK) governor and his deputy,  and has the power to fire. Unless we change the Constitution, the Prime Minster cannot just interfere in the powers of the President.”

But ODM insiders say Mr Odinga must have decided to take a low profile after realising that if he put his hand on everything, the situation might become murky.

A case in point is the saga of former National Security Social Fund managing trustee Rachel Lumbasyo, in which the PM found himself caught in a tricky situation between the parastatal’s board and Labour minster John Munyes.

The next line of battle for the PM could be between him and the head of the civil service, Mr Francis Muthaura, whom the former’s supporters accuse of behaving like a parallel prime minster — undermining the rapport the PM and the President are trying to build.

The Zimbabwe deal has reopened the old debate that Kenya’s power-sharing accord, signed last February 29, gave little “meat” to the Prime Minster’s office and that whatever powers Mr Odinga is enjoying is only courtesy of his personality.

The irony is that Mr Tsvangirai visited Nairobi and consulted Mr Odinga before signing the deal.