Ref: http://www.eastandard.net/news/?id=1143982010&cid=4&PHPSESSID=6dfc51ae6f3c6975b7fafcceee2e8773
Published on February 17, 2008, 12:00 am
By Dennis Onyango
When US Secretary of State, Dr Condoleezza Rice joins Dr Kofi Annan for the peace talks in Nairobi tomorrow, the full force of the world will have landed in Kenya in a way the Government never seems to have anticipated.
Rice’s arrival, together with that of the coming and going of top world leaders has globalised what some Government functionaries appeared to think was a minor internal affair that would fizzle out.
What began with the arrival of retired South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who was not a very welcome guest, followed by Ghanaian President John Kufuor, also welcomed grudgingly, has become a huge exercise putting the country under diplomatic intensive care.
UN Secretary-General Mr Ban Ki-moon jetted at the beginning of the month for talks to end the crisis.
Ban’s predecessor, Annan had travelled ahead of him and is leading the talks. On Friday, Annan declared he would be here for as long as it takes to find a solution.
Former South African President Nelson Mandela’s wife, Mrs Graca Machel, who is a UN expert on humanitarian issues and a former First Lady of Mozambique, is still with Annan together with former Tanzanian President Mr Benjamin Mpaka.
South Africa’s Mr Cyril Ramaphosa, a businessman who helped negotiate an end to apartheid, arrived and left.
The crisis has attracted the attention of British Prime Minister, Mr Gordon Brown and US Undersecretary of State Dr Jendayi Frazer, who was also here.
With the international community pulling together in the same direction and the Government tugging along grudgingly, Annan’s long pursuit at the UN that nations must not be allowed to use sovereignty as a shield could be taking shape before the eyes of Kenyans.
The arrivals and departures of top world leaders has left even Kenyans wondering why the country’s crisis has attracted so much unrelenting global attention.
Some Cabinet ministers have blamed it on the media, which they accuse of "exaggerating" the problem. Interviews with representatives of some of the nations that have put Kenya under pressure paint a different picture.
Ms Elisabeth Barbier, France’s ambassador to Kenya, who also heads the European Union group, says the battle the international community is fighting in Kenya is "bigger than Kenya". She says the aim is largely to protect democracy in Africa.
"Kenya was really considered to be a role model, especially with the transition in 2002. There were fears Moi would hang on to power. But it did not happen and that set Kenya apart as a model," Barbier said.
Unwilling to let Kenya collapse
The five years that followed Moi’s departure, she said, saw an expansion of democracy, creating the impression that Kenya had turned the corner and would provide a model for other struggling African states.
"When the elections led to this crisis, and observation missions clearly saying the elections were substandard, there was shock and disappointment. Since this country was a role model, there is concern that Kenya must not fall," she said.
"Everyone expected things to go in the right direction in Kenya. When they did not, everyone was taken aback and was surprised. The disappointment was greater because Kenya was a role model. The issue is now bigger than Kenya. If Kenya can have such problems with its presidential polls, what does that mean for the rest of Africa?"
These concerns, the EU head says, has made the international community keen to "see Kenya out of the ditch."
Part of that, she said, involves addressing the root causes of the crisis.
"If we let democracy collapse and stand aside as Kenya goes down, what do we tell nations like Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone and many other places where they are still struggling?" she posed.
"There is a strong interest in leading Kenya to show the way. We expected more from Kenya. It is a question of tendency. Kenya’s tendency was in the right direction. What happened in the last poll was disappointing," the ambassador added.
Before he began his tour of Africa, US President George Bush called for a "full return to democracy" in Kenya and announced that he would send Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to "deliver a message directly to Kenya’s leaders".
Mr TJ Dowling, the Head of Public Affairs at the US Embassy in Nairobi, says the concern from the rest of the world has been unwavering because "Kenya is a hub" in the region in many ways.
The country has long been cited as a pillar of democracy in a turbulent continent and acted as a launching ground for counter-terrorism activities in the region.
"The international community first reacted with dismay that Kenya could go this way. There were threats that the situation could trigger other bad ones in the region and the continent. It was a shocker. That’s why there was an outpouring of concern," Dowling said.
The embassy, the official said, never thought that the crisis could lead to a civil war, saying America’s view was that it could be sorted out.
"The violence was a manifestation of the people’s discontent. People felt the electoral process had cheated them," he said.
Kenya, he said, also happened to be a nation the international community was already heavily involved. The involvement in the effort to address the election mess was just a continuation of that involvement.
Risk losing donor funding
There is concern that sections of the Government could be trying to delay the talks and buy time hoping the violence and anger will burn itself out and the ODM will gradually be forced to take up seats in Opposition benches.
The EU however thinks such would be misplaced hope and cut of aid will be considered.
Although government officials have said Kenya no longer relies on donor aid for development, a fact the EU acknowledges, the donor nations still think Kenya would lose heavily if they were to cut the funding.
Foreign assistance, Barbier says, account for about five per cent of Kenya’s Budget. But it has been critical in important development areas like energy, particularly the rural electrification project.
Foreign assistance, the EU says, accounted for 40 per cent of the country’s investment in the energy sector in 2007-2008.
In the water sector, donor funding provided up to 60 per cent of the required money.
Donor funding was projected to finance up to 50 per cent of the education and health sector programmes, with projections of rising to 85 per cent for education and 75 per cent for health.
According to EU records, the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE), the flagship of President Kibaki’s economic achievements in the last five years, could suffer badly if Kenya’s relationship with donors is strained.
Of the 53 big firms listed in the NSE, 20 have strong links with Europe. Europe is also the biggest buyer of Kenya’s money minting products.
"There are a number of options, but we are following the talks very closely," Barbier said.
"We don’t have a solution. But we strongly support Annan’s efforts. We also feel all Kenyan players must work closely with Annan and in good faith. As long as Annan is here, we will support him," the French ambassador said.
She acknowledged that Kenya has a strategic significance in the region and could destabilise many states should it go down.
"The Horn of Africa and most of this region are quite unstable. Kenya has been useful in helping resolve conflicts in the region; from Somalia, Sudan all the way to Central Africa. That requires that Kenya remains stable. The impact of the chaos in Kenya is already being felt as far as Eastern Congo. What is happening in Kenya is bigger than Kenya," she said.
The US, other than defending democracy, has a lot more at stake.
Kenya hosts the US Government’s largest diplomatic mission in sub-Saharan Africa, where 18 federal agencies and offices are housed.
US Government’s presence in Nairobi is represented by the Department of State, USAid, Peace Corps, Centres for Disease Control, Department of Defence, Department of Homeland Security, departments of Agriculture, Justice, Commerce and the Library of Congress.
America’s Centres for Disease Control in Nairobi, which partners with Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri), is the largest outside the US.
Data released by the US Embassy in Nairobi late last year indicated that America sponsors 180 Kenyans for overseas training or exchange programmes every year.
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