EU threatens to withhold aid over non-implementation of reports
18/11/2008 17:54
The European Union (EU) has threatened to withhold budgetary supports if
the Kenyan government will not implement two post-election violence
reports.
European Commission head of delegation to Kenya Eric van der Linden
said the Kenyan government should also review the constitution and land policies
as agreed during the peace talks that culminated in the Grand Coalition
Government.
"We are waiting for the Waki and Kriegler reports to be
implemented. The development group is also looking at Agenda Four. We are
looking if all conditions are met," Linden said, according to Daily Nation
newspaper today.
The political elite, the EU said, must exercise good
governance and prove a conducive political environment before the bloc can open
its purse.
The EU, the largest donor bloc for Kenya, said the implementation
of the Waki Report was a non-negotiable basic condition that must be met before
Kenya accesses any grant.
Linden said all conditions would be scrutinized
before any grants are disbursed to Kenya, which depends on foreign supports to
seal the gaping holes in its annual budgets.
"There are certain conditions
that must be met by a country in order to qualify for budgetary support. In the
case of Kenya, the implementation of the National Accord agreements, which
include the Waki and Kriegler reports, is one of the conditions," said
Linden.
The move to withhold budgetary supports would have an adverse effect
on government programs. The Justice Philip Waki Commission set a 60-day window
during which a local tribunal should be established.
The report was
categorical that if plans to set up the tribunal were sabotaged, suspects of the
violence would be tried at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
The
commission handed over to the chief mediator of the election dispute, former
United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, a secret list of suspects who
should be investigated and tried if found culpable in the violence that left
1,500 dead.
The EU funding would affect funding in education, health,
especially the fight against HIV/AIDS, and infrastructure projects, mainly roads
construction.
It will especially exert pressure on this year's budget, which
has a huge deficit. The government had planned to raise US$500 million from the
international market through a sovereign bond. But due to the international
financial meltdown, this is no longer possible.
If the EU withholds the
supports, the government will be forced to borrow heavily from the local market
to plug the budget deficit, causing inflation and interest rates to
rise.
Although the constitutional review and land reforms were part of Agenda
Four of the coalition deal, the government has been accused of dragging its feet
in addressing the two issues.
The country's 2007/2008 budget has a deficit of
5.3 billion shillings (US$67.5 million), with this gap of about five percent
expected to be largely filled by donors. The EU is one of the top
donors.
French Ambassador to Kenya Elisabeth Barbier reiterated that Kenya
had no option but to implement the Waki Report to end the culture of
impunity.
"The EU strongly supports the implementation of the report and we
are keenly watching. There is little time, but there is still time for its full
implementation," Barbier said.
She underscored the need for the
implementation of the report to prevent recurrence of violence. "We look to
Kenyan leaders to implement the report and we will hold them accountable," she
said.
She added that the Waki Commission had a complex mandate, but managed
to come up with a transparent and thorough report geared to end the culture of
impunity.
"The Waki Commission recommended further investigation into
sexually-related violence by security agents. It is in the interest of the
National Accord to address this issue," she said.
The EU statement sends a
chilling message to the political elite roundly condemned for fanning the
violence that left more than 1,000 people dead, half a million others displaced
and the country at the brink of collapse.
Linden, however, said Kenya enjoys
good relations with the EU and he was confident that the recommendations in the
two reports would be implemented.
He at the same time announced that the EU
would fund development projects in Kenya to the tune of 400 million euros (
US$506 million) for five years if all conditions were met.
"Between now and
2013, Kenya should benefit from 10 billion shillings grants per year. These
money will be used in projects relating to energy, drought preparedness, water,
infrastructure and rural development," Linden said.
Xinhua
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