VOA常速英语2008年-Kenyans Under Challenges After Power-sharing Ac

By Derek Kilner
Nairobi
29 February 2008

Following the signing of a power-sharing agreement the mood in Kenya's capital is one of relief and hope that life will begin to return to normal. But as Derek Kilner reports from Nairobi, there is an awareness¹ of the many challenges that remain.

After a wave of post-election violence that has killed some 1,500 people and a month spent awaiting the outcome of a mediation² effort led by former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, residents of Nairobi greeted the news of a power-sharing agreement with relief.

"I start feeling as if now it's a new year for me," said Peter Onango who sells pirated DVDs in the city center. "There was a lot of tension, people are dying. Now the way they have agreed I think everything is going to come back to normal."

Joshua Shinje, who works for an insurance firm, also welcomed the news.

" We are very happy because now everything will come back to normal," he said. "People will start working without fear and we commend them for that. For at least agreeing to share power, so that we can see things come back to normal."

As Mr. Annan made clear at the signing ceremony, the agreement between President Mwai Kibaki and opposition³ leader Raila Odinga to create a new prime minister's office and a power-sharing Cabinet is only a first-step and will require significant work to enact⁴.

At the time of the previous election in 2002, a similar agreement was reached to give Mr. Odinga - a key ally of Mr. Kibaki in that race - the job of prime minister. That agreement was never implemented⁵ and contributed to Odinga's split with the government.

This time, the opposition insisted that the agreement be implemented through a constitutional amendment⁶ to prevent a similar outcome. But as political analyst⁷ Ojwang Agina points out, the current agreement includes no time-frame for instituting its provisions.

"The challenges are very substantial," said Agina. "Firstly, from past experience, it will be a challenge to have Kibaki sign the act which is supposed to be enacted⁸. In the speeches they were talking as soon as possible. That could be misused⁹ by the people who are against change to drag this thing indefinitely."

Political science professor Peter Wanyande, of the University of Nairobi, agrees that some effort will be needed to enact the agreement - which requires a two-thirds majority in parliament - but think it is likely to succeed.

"I think a lot of work has to be done to convince the parliamentarians that this is necessary and that this is for the good of the country," said Wanyande. "And therefore that they should put party interests aside. That should not be a very very big problem. I think there are a lot of politicians from both sides who really understand."

Accountant Richard Kenuah expressed optimism that Kenyans will see to it that their leaders follow through.

"When you look at the way things are moving now the rates are going down, the stock market is vibrant¹⁰ again," said Kenuah. "Kenyans working in their own self-interest are going to ensure that this agreement succeeds. I don't think we have time for politicians who are going to want to stall this or to try to adopt hardline positions that are going to derail this agreement. We have to succeed. We have to go forward. Period."

Once the coalition¹¹ is in place, there remains¹² the challenge of addressing the broader issues that contributed to the recent violence in the country, including land distribution, economic inequalities and additional constitutional reform. Kenyans are under no illusions about the difficulties of these tasks. But Wanyande says the current agreement will "cool the tempers" of politicians and hopefully avoid an immediate¹³ return to instability.

Kenya Human Rights Commission Executive Director Muthoni Wanyeki hopes that the respite¹⁴ provided by the agreement will allow the government to craft an effective response to the threat of future violence.

"Given all the reports we have about preparations of militias… hopefully the breathing space this gives us will allow the security sector¹⁵ to respond appropriately and within the boundaries of the law," said Wanyeki. "We've been given breathing space, the question is how to utilize¹⁶ it to ensure that we not just pull back from the brink¹⁷ but move totally away from it."

The current agreement also leaves unanswered the question of what happens if the coalition collapses¹⁸. The opposition says it would want new elections to be held, but the process for now remains undecided.

1 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

2 mediation   

n.调解

参考例句：

• The dispute was settled by mediation of the third country. 这场争端通过第三国的斡旋而得以解决。
• The dispute was settled by mediation. 经调解使争端得以解决。

3 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。

4 enact   

vt.制定(法律)；上演，扮演

参考例句：

• The U.S. Congress has exclusive authority to enact federal legislation.美国国会是唯一有权颁布联邦法律的。
• For example,a country can enact laws and economic policies to attract foreign investment fairly quickly.例如一个国家可以很快颁布吸引外资的法令和经济政策。

5 implemented   

v.实现( implement的过去式和过去分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• This agreement, if not implemented, is a mere scrap of paper. 这个协定如不执行只不过是一纸空文。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The economy is in danger of collapse unless far-reaching reforms are implemented. 如果不实施影响深远的改革，经济就面临崩溃的危险。 来自辞典例句

6 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

7 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

8 enacted   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• legislation enacted by parliament 由议会通过的法律
• Outside in the little lobby another scene was begin enacted. 外面的小休息室里又是另一番景象。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

9 misused   

v.使用…不当( misuse的过去式和过去分词 )；把…派作不正当的用途；虐待；滥用

参考例句：

• He misused his dog shamefully. 他可耻地虐待自己的狗。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He had grossly misused his power. 他严重滥用职权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 vibrant   

adj.震颤的，响亮的，充满活力的，精力充沛的，(色彩)鲜明的

参考例句：

• He always uses vibrant colours in his paintings. 他在画中总是使用鲜明的色彩。
• She gave a vibrant performance in the leading role in the school play.她在学校表演中生气盎然地扮演了主角。

11 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。

12 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

13 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

14 respite   

n.休息，中止，暂缓

参考例句：

• She was interrogated without respite for twenty-four hours.她被不间断地审问了二十四小时。
• Devaluation would only give the economy a brief respite.贬值只能让经济得到暂时的缓解。

15 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

16 utilize   

vt.使用，利用

参考例句：

• The cook will utilize the leftover ham bone to make soup.厨师要用吃剩的猪腿骨做汤。
• You must utilize all available resources.你必须利用一切可以得到的资源。

17 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

18 collapses   

折叠( collapse的第三人称单数 )； 倒塌； 崩溃； （尤指工作劳累后）坐下

参考例句：

• This bridge table collapses. 这张桥牌桌子能折叠。
• Once Russia collapses, the last chance to stop Hitler will be gone. 一旦俄国垮台，抑止希特勒的最后机会就没有了。