Tuesday, March 15, 2011

RAILA IS A POOR MANAGER-ORENGO


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Share/Save/Bookmark Lands minister James Orengo in 2009 said Prime Minister Raila Odinga was a bad manager and was mostly focused on his 2012 presidential bid instead of implementing the reform agenda.
Orengo, who is considered one of Raila’s close confidants, also described Raila as a man held hostage by his political supporters. This information is in a diplomatic cable sent to Washington DC by US ambassador Michael Ranneberger on June 26, 2009 and which has now been released by Wikileaks.
The cable, titled the Reform agenda - keeping the pressure on Kibaki and Odinga, said Ranneberger had a candid talk with Orengo where the minister claimed that just like President Kibaki, Raila lacked solid leadership skills which was delaying reforms. “Orengo said that, given the lack of leadership by both Kibaki and Odinga, he does not believe that the reform process will move ahead quickly - if at all,” Ranneberger said.
Orengo considered Raila a leader who could not take bold steps in the reform agenda because he was being held hostage by his political supporters. “Odinga has done nothing to reorganise his office to make it more effective. Odinga is a poor manager who does not follow up, and he is primarily focused on preparing for his presidential run in 2012, Orengo said. Odinga has avoided bold moves because he is hostage to his difficult political constituency, Orengo said,” the cable states.
According to Ranneberger, Orengo admitted he was frustrated with the pace of reform arguing that Raila must bear substantial responsibility for the delay. “Orengo made clear his view that Kibaki and his people do not favor far-reaching reforms, but at the same time, he said, Odinga has not been forthright in driving implementation of the reform agenda,” Ranneberger wrote.“In essence, Orengo concluded, Odinga wants to maintain support from the diverse elements of his Orange Democratic Movement coalition, and that means he has pulled his punches on issues like the Special Tribunal,” added the ambassador.
Orengo said that chances were high that the new draft national land policy may not be implemented due to the sensitive issues involved. Ranneberger adds that after Orengo’s confessions, he urged the Lands minister “to have a heart-to-heart discussion” with Raila. “Odinga needs to be shaken out of his complacency, Orengo commented,” the envoy said in the cable.
Ranneberger said he told Orengo that it was not too late for Raila to embrace the reform agenda and push hard for its implementation. “We want to help him be successful as Prime Minister, because if he fails then the coalition will fail and the historic opportunity to bring about fundamental reform will be lost, with an increased likelihood for future instability,” the envoy added.
Ranneberger told Washington that Americans must continue pressing Kibaki and Raila hard to implement reforms. “They need to know that we see them as having shared responsibility, thus forestalling their attempts to play the blame game while the reform agenda languishes. Implementation will not happen without their decisive leadership. Both men remain very sensitive to US concerns and pressure,” said Ranneberger.

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