VOA常速英语2008年-Kenyan Leaders Discuss Forming New Cabinet

By Derek Kilner
Nairobi
25 March 2008

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki has discussed the formation of the country's abinet with Raila Odinga, the opposition¹ leader expected to take up the post of prime minister in a coalition² government, but the two have not reached agreement. Meanwhile, as Derek Kilner reports for VOA from Nairobi, civil society leaders have called for the leaders to appoint a smaller Cabinet and to avoid picking politicians with records of corruption³.

Many Kenyans had expected President Kibaki to announce the members of the country's new power-sharing Cabinet. But Raila Odinga left his meeting with the president saying discussions were still underway and that he did not know when the announcement would come.

A power-sharing agreement between President Kibaki's Party of National Unity⁴ and Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement calls for Cabinet ministries⁵ to be evenly divided between the two. Analysts⁶ have expected intense wrangling⁷ between the two over the distribution of posts, with both leaders attempting to steer⁸ allies into key positions.

President Kibaki had already appointed roughly half the members of the Cabinet, including in top ministries such as finance, internal security, and foreign affairs. The president is expected to concede some of these posts, but the existing appointments likely added to the difficulty of the current process.

With both Kibaki and Odinga seeking to award jobs to their supporters, the Cabinet is expected to have at least as many ministers as the current 34. But civil society groups have urged the leaders to resist the temptation to form a large Cabinet, saying resources could be better spent on things like development projects.

Cyprian Nyamwamu is executive director of the National Executive Convention Council and a leader of the National Civil Society Congress, which has advocated reducing the number of Cabinet posts to 21.

"They have blackmailed⁹ Kenyans. If you want this coalition to work, it can only work if it is large, if everyone is in," Nyamwamu said. "So you have to choose whether we allow the coalition to collapse¹⁰ then we go back to war, or you allow us to create a bigger one and then there is peace for you, even if that peace is pyrrhic and is just a feel good factor which does not come with concomitant reforms and changes."

Nyamwamu also highlights the importance of picking ministers without a history of corruption, especially given the worry that with no real opposition party in the proposed coalition government, it will be more difficult to bring government misconduct to light.

"This country has documented evidence, stories and records of people who have run down ministries, stolen money, promoted ethnic¹¹ chauvinism and nepotism¹² in ministries. These people should be kept out of public office at least at the ministerial executive level to show that we are expecting a corruption free government," Nyamwamu said.

Civil society groups have also called for strong representation of women and younger politicians in the Cabinet.

1 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

2 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

3 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

4 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

5 ministries   

（政府的）部( ministry的名词复数 )； 神职； 牧师职位； 神职任期

参考例句：

• Local authorities must refer everything to the central ministries. 地方管理机构应请示中央主管部门。
• The number of Ministries has been pared down by a third. 部委的数量已经减少了1/3。

6 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

7 wrangling   

v.争吵，争论，口角( wrangle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The two sides have spent most of their time wrangling over procedural problems. 双方大部分时间都在围绕程序问题争论不休。 来自辞典例句
• The children were wrangling (with each other) over the new toy. 孩子为新玩具（互相）争吵。 来自辞典例句

8 steer   

vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶

参考例句：

• If you push the car, I'll steer it.如果你来推车，我就来驾车。
• It's no use trying to steer the boy into a course of action that suits you.想说服这孩子按你的方式行事是徒劳的。

9 blackmailed   

胁迫，尤指以透露他人不体面行为相威胁以勒索钱财( blackmail的过去式 )

参考例句：

• He was blackmailed by an enemy agent (into passing on state secrets). 敌特威胁他（要他交出国家机密）。
• The strikers refused to be blackmailed into returning to work. 罢工者拒绝了要挟复工的条件。

10 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

11 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

12 nepotism   

n.任人唯亲；裙带关系

参考例句：

• The congressman lashed the president for his nepotism.国会议员抨击总统搞裙带关系。
• Many will regard his appointment as the kind of nepotism British banking ought to avoid.很多人会把他的任命看作是英国银行业应该避免的一种裙带关系。