VOA常速英语2008年-Kenya Swears in Power-Sharing Cabinet

By Derek Kilner
Nairobi
17 April 2008

Nearly three months after Kenya's disputed elections, the country's new power-sharing cabinet has been sworn in, including former opposition¹ leader Raila Odinga as prime minister. As Derek Kilner reports from Nairobi, the government is to steer² the country away from the political crisis and violence experienced after December's vote.

At a lengthy³ ceremony in the capital, Nairobi, Kenya's 42 ministers and 50 assistant ministers - half belonging to or aligned⁴ with President Mwai Kibaki's Party of National Unity⁵, and half from Prime Minister Raila Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement - took office.

The event officially puts in place the power-sharing government agreed upon by President Kibaki and Mr. Odinga in an agreement mediated⁶ by former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan in late February.

Mr. Annan was on hand for the event and urged support for the new government, despite concerns that the large number of ministers, the most in Kenya's history, is a waste of resources.

"I know there has been some debate as to the size of the government, but what is important is that we do have a government," he said. "We have an opportunity to put Kenya back on track and build a stronger Kenya and it is essential that you all support the leaders and the government."

Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni, Prime Minister Odinga, and President Kibaki also delivered speeches. The president sounded an optimistic note on moving forward.

"The recent general elections seriously divided our people along regional and ethnic⁷ lines. The formation of the grand coalition⁸ government promises to heal the rifts⁹ created by negative politics and ethnic suspicions which threatened to tear our nation apart," said Mr. Museveni.

Some analysts¹⁰ say the president's party has maintained a larger share of key offices, including defense¹¹, foreign affairs, internal security, finance and justice. Orange Democratic Movement members will be running the land, agriculture and local government ministries¹², among others.

There is concern about how long the government will last because the relative powers of the president and prime minister have not been spelled out, leaving the door open for future conflict.

But the executive director of the Kenya chapter of the International Commission of Jurists, George Kegoro, says there is little advantage for the two sides in abandoning the current arrangement anytime soon.

"They have come from very expensive elections. They would like to re-group across the board. And they would like also to re-arm politically. None of the groups is ready for battle again, which is what walking away from the alliance would invite," he said.

The cabinet will be charged with the resettlement of hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the post-election violence and putting the country's economy back on track.

At the center of the government's agenda will be an overhaul¹³ of the country's constitution. That was the issue that split the previous government, causing Mr. Odinga to break with the president and form what would become the Orange Democratic Movement.

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 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。

3 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

4 aligned   

adj.对齐的，均衡的

参考例句：

• Make sure the shelf is aligned with the top of the cupboard.务必使搁架与橱柜顶端对齐。

5 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。

6 mediated   

调停，调解，斡旋( mediate的过去式和过去分词 )； 居间促成； 影响…的发生； 使…可能发生

参考例句：

• He mediated in the quarrel between the two boys. 他调解两个孩子之间的争吵。
• The government mediated between the workers and the employers. 政府在工人与雇主间搞调和。

7 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。

8 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。

9 rifts   

n.裂缝( rift的名词复数 )；裂隙；分裂；不和

参考例句：

• After that, through the rifts in the inky clouds sparkled redder and yet more luminous particles. 然后在几条墨蓝色云霞的隙缝里闪出几个更红更亮的小片。 来自汉英文学 - 现代散文
• The Destinies mend rifts in time as man etches fate. 当人类想要再次亵渎命运的时候，命运及时修正了这些裂痕。 来自互联网

10 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。

11 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

12 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。

13 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。