KENYA: Opposition leader Raila Odinga discusses way forward for Kenya after post-election crisis

Record ID: 361569

  • Title: KENYA: Opposition leader Raila Odinga discusses way forward for Kenya after post-election crisis
  • Date: 5th March 2008
  • Summary: (AD1) NAIROBI, KENYA (MARCH 1, 2008) (REUTERS) JOURNALIST TALKING TO OPPOSITION LEADER RAILA ODINGA (SOUNDBITE) (English) OPPOSITION LEADER RAILA ODINGA SAYING: "I think that now that we have resolved the issue of the dispute of the elections, calm has returned back to the country and I'm sure that over the next few days, people will begin to go about their work normally.
  • Embargoed: 20th March 2008 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Kenya
  • Country: Kenya
  • Topics: Domestic Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVADGMPDRNCZ7BR2TWFQFSJ2FNO6
  • Story Text: Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga, who is due to take the post of executive prime minister under a power-sharing deal with President Mwai Kibaki, said Kenya would return to normalcy soon after a political settlement was found.
    The violence in Kenya erupted after Kibaki was sworn in as president after claims that the December 27 elections were rigged, a charge Kibaki denied.
    More than 1,000 people were killed in the ensuing violence and 300,000 people were forced to flee their homes.
    "I think that now that we have resolved the issue of the dispute of the elections, calm has returned back to the country and I'm sure that over the next few days, people will begin to go about their work normally. It's going to require quite a bit of campaign internationally to restore the confidence of the international community in Kenya," said Odinga.
    Speaking at party headquarters in Nairobi, the Orange Democratic Movement leader told Reuters that he was sure Kenya could regain the trust of international investors and lure back tourists within six months if the coalition government can get down to work.
    "I know that it is possible to campaign successfully and that within six months, we should be able to turn the corner and see that tourism is back because tourism is a major foreign exchange earner for this country and also investor confidence generally in the country is restored," he said.
    Tourism, the country's biggest foreign exchange earner worth nearly 1 billion U.S. dollars last year, has all but collapsed since television footage of violent mobs on the rampage was beamed around the world.
    Beach resorts on the Indian Ocean coast and safari operators in inland Kenya are begging for customers, while the Kenyan currency, the shilling, has fluctuated wildly before bouncing back after Odinga and Kibaki signed their deal on Thursday (February 28).
    Odinga also said the country would require international help with reconstruction after the upheavals of the last two months. Odinga said he was appreciative of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's offer to convene an international aid donors' conference.
    "Reconstruction is going to require quite a bit of funding which is out of reach of this government so we are going to need some assistance from our international friends. I have seen that Mr. Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister of the U.K., has offered to convene a conference in London. We are very grateful for that gesture and we hope that other countries will follow suite and come to our aid in that regard," he added.
    Odinga, whose fractious relationship with Kibaki will be put to the test when he starts work as prime minister, said he would be responsible for carrying out reforms and making sure the government runs efficiently.
    Parliament meets on Thursday (March 6) to ratify the power-sharing plan mediated by former U.N. secretary general Kofi Annan.
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