It was perhaps to be expected that a document as vague as the national accord signed by President Kibaki and ODM head Raila Odinga should soon run into a stream of different interpretations.
Kamale T had already written a perspicacious article here, highlighting exactly how vague both the National Accord and the Act of Parliament that would entrench it in law were regarding not just the intended hierarchy but also the powers, duties and responsibilities of the offices newly created. It also shows,and the president's speech when opening parliament underlines, that while the signatories to the accord were President Kibaki and Hon. Odinga, the wording of the pact is such as would admit the ODM-K, KANU, Safina and other parties into the pre-accord PNU coalition.
Following from this, in a move that would have surprised none but the keenest stargazers, the Secretary to the Cabinet and the government spokesman yesterday laid out what the government's intentions were regarding the agreement and the positions of the new officers. According to their statements, the new premiership would be a far cry from the elevated executive premiership that, son et lumière aside, the ODM and its supporters have been celebrating.
The chief civil servant also made clear that all the new officers would be directly responsible to the president who would retain his position as the head of the government and state, and also as chairman of the cabinet. He also made clear that Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka would still precede the Prime Minister both in protocol and in seniority in government as the president's principal assistant and Leader of Government Business in Parliament.
It is unlikely that the emasculated Vice Presidency or the diminution of the ODM-K celebrated by the media and the Law Society will come to pass, especially as the importance of the party and its MPs becomes crucial in propping up the PNU position on resource allocation, writing legislation and reforming the constitution and ultimately on the matter of the Kibaki succession. What the ODM seem to be left with here is a position that is roughly analogous to that presently held by Muthaura and in spite of the most fertile imagination on the part of the ODM media, the act seems not to confer more than a very vague sense of importance on the Prime Minister.
What is curious now is whether the 'administrative' position taken by the Secretary to the Cabinet will be retained as the official government position, especially as the Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Martha Karua has previously warned against the public proclamation of positions on the coalition agreement.
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Make no mistake, Muthaura would never make a statement that is not authorised at the highest level.
What is even important is how ODM reacted to the statement. The statement from ODM was not signed by Raila, Salim Lone, Henry Kosgei, William Ruto or even Prof. Nyong'o, but Amukowa Anangwe - he of New Kanu fame! Do the principals of ODM actually know what we do not know?
I have maintained that the deal is flawed, but it would appear that once the government massaged Raila's ego with all the trappings of power, they knew that he would perhaps not discard the trappings for a small argument with Muthaura. In any case Raila has repeatedly said that a half a loaf was better than nothing - but how half was that loaf?
Part of the problem with the ODM crowd is they seemed to have misinterpreted the agreement to mean that Raila would be executive prime minister even when the agreement was quite clear what his role would be in government. Forget about the constitutionality and common sense of the agreement that you can supervise someone you did not appoint and cannot sack.
Personally I think the SPIRIT of the deal was good and well intended. However the wording leaves so much room for mischief that I would perhaps appeal to both PNU and ODM supporters to lobby their MPs to reject the Act in its present form and ensure that it is redrawn to capture the spirit in the correct words. But will they?