By Isaac Ongiri

Question: Do you think the country has changed compared to the situation before the Grand Coalition Government?

Answer: Yes, the country has changed. That change is not just in the end of war but also in a general realisation by Kenyans that we have a problem of creating a cohesive nation, which we have been lying to ourselves that we live in peace, love and unity. There is a realisation that all these were empty rhetoric and we need to begin afresh the work of building Kenya into one nation, indivisible under any circumstances.

The Coalition Government spent the last year laying the foundation. The Coalition was more or less building a country from the scratch after the violence. We were tasked with making communities accept each other as Kenyans. We thought our forefathers finished this work when they won us Uhuru. It fell apart last year. Work is going on in this regard, but it has been tampered by other crises that were not expected. The Government has been quite quick to respond to issues. I know there is famine in the country but the Government cannot be accused of being indifferent to the suffering of Kenyans. We have stayed up late in our offices trying to figure out how to get the best deal for our people in these circumstances. Soon, the public will see the fruits of these efforts.

A lot of things happened before the country exploded in violence. Where was Raila Odinga?

I voted like every other Kenyan, went around to see voting in polling stations and went home. I also watched results from our campaign headquarters with party colleagues and campaign officials.

During initial vote counting it was emerging you were winning. When and how did you receive the message your lead was reducing fast, and the country was at war with itself?

I would like to let the past rest. The most I can say is the moment violence erupted, I felt that Kenyans’ efforts in building this nation for more than 40 years were going up in smoke; that the nation some died for to liberate was being destroyed because of incompetent management of elections.

In which key areas do you think the Grand Coalition Government has done well?

The Coalition has brought back a fair amount of stability, which is crucial before we can do anything else. That stability has however come against the background of great expectations at a time of scarcity and famine. We have also laid a very elaborate foundation on which we intend to build from. Every ministry has some core issues it has put forward to achieve within a specific time frame. There is a more methodical and coordinated approach to issues. The fruits of these plans will not necessarily be felt immediately but the benefits will surely come.

Economic growth has been slow, with less that three per cent recorded over last year. When do you think the situation will change?

Personally, I have seen worse times than this. Kenyans have too. There have been darker days in this country. When there was famine, repression, recession and corruption going on all at once with everyone barred from talking about it, Kenyans went through all that and emerged even stronger. Our economy will certainly pick up. We are putting in place all the measures an economy requires to pick up. But we must also agree that we are part of the globe and we are not insulated from the recession that is gripping other parts of the world. My word to Kenyans is: we have been through worse times. We will surely overcome this. We must not give up.

You wanted to be President but ended up being Prime Minister. What plans do you have for the future?

My plan for the future right now is to build a united and stable Kenya in which citizens and leaders agree that we rise or fall together. Without that realisation, whatever we put up will one day go up in smoke again. Any other plans I have are secondary to this desire to see Kenyans get together more genuinely than they were before.

On several occasions, you have taken positions, sometimes not favoured by your own supporters — for instance, the Mau forest eviction issue. Is it that you are shifting alliances?

I don’t see how fighting to restore Mau or to have the Waki Report implemented or have performance contracts can be seen as a shifting of positions if that is what you mean. I am the leader of ODM. We promised change, not business as usual. We promised to conserve the environment. We promised to end the culture of impunity and punish past injustices. If you care to study our manifesto, you will see all these things. I don’t see how you can say you want to end impunity and still oppose Waki Report. The biggest environmental degradation going on in this country is in the Mau. We all agree in the party now that it needs to be done. We also agree those affected need to be given alternative land to settle on and be removed in a dignified way. That is what I have been working to accomplish. I have talked with donors who have expressed willingness to support the project by providing funds to compensate those affected. We campaigned and promised citizens we would make service delivery in the public sector responsive and efficient. That is why I have supported performance contract. The people of Kenya want to know what public servants are supposed to do on a day-by-day basis and whether they actually do it. That is what performance contracts are all about.

The Grand Coalition Government has faced several challenges since its inception. MPs sometimes rebel against decisions taken by the Government, the most recent being the rejection of the Special Tribunal Bill. With this scenario, how far can this Government go?

It is not unusual for a section of MPs to vote against the Government, especially in a coalition. It happens all the time and it does not mean the Government is collapsing. Recently, we saw US Congress first reject the rescue package the government was pushing to cushion the economy. The government never collapsed. Instead, the government did some more explaining, addressed the concerns of those who voted against the package and it was eventually passed. That is what happened here and it is what we intend to do here. It does not mean the Government is collapsing.

What particularly do you intend to achieve, under this Government before we get to the next elections?

We want to restore national unity, address past injustices, give Kenyans a new constitution and revive and expand our economy.

Why is Parliament split on the composition of the Interim Independent Electoral Commission?

It is democratic and it shows Parliament is fighting for its space. That is the freedom we fought for during the Second Liberation. It means that in future, we will think harder and seriously before we take names before the House for approval. It is good for the country. There were days when nobody questioned anything the Government brought to the House. We paid for it dearly. It was for lack of debate that Kenya was made a one party State in 1982 in a matter of minutes. We don’t want that to happen again, so I want MPs to vote with their conscience or according to the demands of their voters. Let whoever is bringing a Motion before Parliament do serious work in lobbying and convincing MPs. That is how it is supposed to be.