We are not safe yet

Although the government coalition has been formed Kenya still faces major challenges, stressed His Excellency Danish Ambassador to Kenya Bo Jensen

Like other speakers during the MS Kenya Annual Meeting taking place March 27th and 28th in Nairobi, Danish Ambassador Bo Jensen in his speech touched upon the post-election crisis in Kenya explaining how the Danish government looks upon the issue:

“We read the situation this way: Kenyans accept the accord. They can live with it. As you may have seen in the media, 90 per cent of Kenyans, according to an opinion poll, think the political agreement will bring peace.”
The ambassador added that the government of Denmark likewise is ready to accept the coalition government.

“The question is then: Are we safe?” he continued before answering the question:

“I don’t think so. There are major challenges ahead. We have seen new hurdles coming up in the process of forming the cabinet. That is a bit disappointing. It should be a simple matter of give and take. It raises concerns over how more complicated political issues will be solved in the future.”

There is a risk that the violence and riots may erupt again if crucial socio-political issues are not solved in the near future, Ambassador Bo Jensen cautions.

Of the challenges that have to be addressed by the political system in the near future Bo Jensen mentioned issues of:

• Land
• Decentralisation
• Distribution of resources
• Youth unemployment
• Slums

“If theses issues are not resolved there is a risk that the violence and riots may erupt again,” the Ambassador cautioned.

Ambassador Bo Jensen was asked if the international community has credible figures of who won the elections. He made it clear that that is not the case.

“International observers were not present at polling stations to an extent that they can say who won the elections. But on the other hand  international observers were able to state that the elections were seriously flawed,” he answered before making it clear that he does not consider it an option to re-count the votes or re-run the elections.

Unchanged support for Kenya
Although international observers have pointed out irregularities in the election process, Ambassador Bo Jensen made it very clear that support from Denmark to the Civil Society and the private sector in Kenya will not be reduced.

In 2008, he estimates that Denmark will grant a bit more than 200 million DKK (approx. 2.7 billion kshs) to Kenya and thus reaching the same level as in 2007. The projected amount for 2008 was slightly higher, but due to the post-election violence the majority of planned activities were not implemented due to the post-election violence.

The character of programmes supported by Denmark will not be changed significantly either, Ambassador Bo Jensen emphasised:

“In our programmes we are already focusing on poverty reduction. We don’t build highways or airports. We still see a need to do what we do, including working to strengthen governance.”