Report paints bleak future for reform agenda

By Athman Amran

Tomorrow ushers in a crucial year for Kenya’s reform agenda under the National Accord and Reconciliation Act.

This is because the mandate of the various committees, commissions and institutions set up for the purpose expire before end of the year.

These were formed early and mid this year to specifically address fundamental causes of the Post-Election Violence (Pev), which nearly plunged the country into total anarchy following the flowed presidential election of 2007.

But a report by the International Center for Policy and Conflict (ICPC) predicts the reform institutions may not beat the deadline, thus creating a precarious future for the nation.

ICPC Executive Director Ndung’u Wainaina released the report yesterday.

The institutions are part of Agenda Four’s long-term reforms beginning with recommendations by the Independent Review of the Elections Commission and the Commission of Inquiry into Post-Election Violence.

After the Report of the two commissions, the Government set up the Interim Independent Boundaries Review Commission, the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) and the Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission.

Others were the Interim Independent Electoral Commission and the Committee of Experts on Constitutional Reforms.

Also instituted were a Police Reforms Taskforce, Judicial Reforms Taskforce, National Land Policy, Parliamentary Standing Orders and Civil Service reforms.

Tangible results

Efforts to set up a Special Tribunal to try post-election violence suspects has been the first casualty through the failure by Parliament to adopt the Special Tribunal for Kenya Bill 2009.

The ICPC fears that other reform processes may also fail as they are still at infancy stage "without substantive, concrete and tangible results" due to either disinterest by Government or political wars between the main political players in the Grand Coalition Government.

"Our findings are that Kenyans have a long way to go if the reforms are going to be a reality before December 2010," the report says.

The ICPC says that implementation of the agreed reforms "are far from entering the concrete deliverables".