Kenya reforms pace too slow, says team

The latest report by South Consulting, the team tasked by the Panel of Eminent Persons to monitor essential reforms in Kenya, says progress is too slow.

“The slow pace has disillusioned the public,” it says. However, it notes that there is movement in each of the main components that constitute Agenda Four.

Of great concern, the report says, is the potential of political conflicts in the Coalition spilling into the constitutional review. It warns that failure to complete the review would end or slow other reforms.

On undertaking constitutional, legal and institutional reforms, South Consulting says that a list of contentious issues in the Constitution has been published; a national taskforce on police reforms constituted; a scheme for promotion of civil servants launched and a judicial reform taskforce formed.

However, the Committee of Experts on the Constitution is said to be behind schedule while an important component of the process - the Interim Independent Constitutional Dispute Resolution Court - is yet to be constituted.

On police reforms, the conflict between the Administration police and the regular police is seen as a major threat. The report released in September also notes that the Kenyan Government has put down plans to tackle poverty and inequality, and combat regional development imbalances.

It says that the 2009/2010 national budget improved funding for constituency development projects by 120 per cent, with a view to stimulating growth and development in the rural areas. The report says security is deteriorating, with the rise in new forms of crime, including carjacking and kidnapping.

Reduced tension

“The rise of vigilantes and their increased use of violence against suspected members of illegal armed groups such as Mungiki has disrupted social harmony and divided local communities.”

It also says that improved relations between the President and the Prime Minister have reduced tension and conflict within the Coalition. However, it warns against political patronage, where some ministers are said to have appointed their allies to senior positions in parastatals.