VOA常速英语2008年-Kenya Names New Coalition Cabinet

By Derek Kilner
Nairobi
13 April 2008

Kenyan president Mwai Kibaki has announced the formation of a new power-sharing government, including his main rival in December's elections, Raila Odinga, as prime minister. The announcement breaks a deadlock¹ that had raised fears in recent days about the viability² of the coalition³. Derek Kilner reports from Nairobi.

Following a one-on-one meeting Saturday between President Mwai Kibaki and opposition⁴ leader Raila Odinga, President Kibaki announced the formation of a new coalition government.

"The announcement of the new Cabinet today demonstrates the commitment of the political leadership to move ahead and pay more attention to addressing the challenges facing our country and people," said Mwai Kibaki.

Discussions on the division of ministries⁵ between the country's two main parties had broken down last week, setting off protests in Mr. Odinga's strongholds and prompting a flurry of statements from foreign diplomats⁶.

As expected, President Kibaki named Mr. Odinga, who charges December's presidential election was rigged to rob him of victory, as prime minister, a newly created position under the terms of a power-sharing agreement negotiated by former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan in February.

Vice⁷ President Kalonzo Musyoka, who split from Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement, known as ODM, during the campaign, and who has since allied⁸ with President Kibaki's Party of National Untiy will keep his position.

Two deputy prime minister positions have also been created. They will go to the ODM's Musalia Mudavadi, who was also named local government minister, and Kibaki ally Uhuru Kenyatta, who will also serve as minister for trade.

Members of President Kibaki's Party of National Untiy will hold on to many of the key ministries, including finance, defense⁹, foreign affairs, internal security and justice.

ODM ministers will be in charge of land, agriculture, tourism, and local government.

ODM's William Ruto and Anyang' Nyong'o, whose presence in the government had been opposed by some in the president's party, were both named as ministers. Ruto, who has been accused of involvement in post-election violence in his Rift¹⁰ Valley region, will serve as minister of agriculture. ODM Secretary-General Anyang' Nyong'o whose threats of mass protests have irritated the government, will serve as minister for medical services.

The Medical Services ministry¹¹ is one of several new positions in the 40-member Cabinet.

Many Kenyans have opposed expanding the Cabinet from 34 to 40 ministries, saying it is a waste of government resources.

The new Cabinet will include separate ministries for cooperative development, Northern Kenya development, Nairobi metropolitan¹² development, and Vision 2030 - a national government development plan. But civil society groups, religious leaders and newspaper editorial boards have argued that development would be better served by sending money directly to projects, rather than by spending it on salaries, vehicles and office space for new ministers, assistant ministers and other staff.

Discussions over the naming of ministers broke down last week, with Mr. Odinga accusing president Kibaki of refusing to give up a fair share of powerful positions. A number of foreign diplomats called on the sides to break the impasse¹³ in recent days, including U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, U.K. foreign secretary David Miliband and Mr. Annan.

Now the country's leaders will turn their attention to an ambitious reform agenda aimed at avoiding a repeat of this year's post-election political and tribal¹⁴ violence. The main goal is an overhaul¹⁵ of the country's constitution that would involve reducing the president's powers and addressing land distribution.

But the struggle over the naming of the Cabinet has provided a reminder¹⁶ of the lingering distrust between the two sides and the difficulty of the task ahead.

1 deadlock   

n.僵局，僵持

参考例句：

• The negotiations reached a deadlock after two hours.两小时后，谈判陷入了僵局。
• The employers and strikers are at a deadlock over the wage.雇主和罢工者在工资问题上相持不下。

2 viability   

n.存活(能力)

参考例句：

• What is required to achieve or maintain such viability? 要达到或维持这种生存能力需要什么？
• Scientists are experimenting to find ways to ensure the viability of seeds for even longer periods of time. 正如我们所说，科学家正在试验努力寻找让种子的生命力更加延长的方法。

3 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。

4 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。

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 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

8 allied   

adj.协约国的；同盟国的

参考例句：

• Britain was allied with the United States many times in history.历史上英国曾多次与美国结盟。
• Allied forces sustained heavy losses in the first few weeks of the campaign.同盟国在最初几周内遭受了巨大的损失。

9 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。

10 rift   

n.裂口，隙缝，切口；v.裂开，割开，渗入

参考例句：

• He was anxious to mend the rift between the two men.他急于弥合这两个人之间的裂痕。
• The sun appeared through a rift in the clouds.太阳从云层间隙中冒出来。

11 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

12 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

13 impasse   

n.僵局；死路

参考例句：

• The government had reached an impasse.政府陷入绝境。
• Negotiations seemed to have reached an impasse.谈判似乎已经陷入僵局。

14 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

15 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。

16 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。