Annan confident on new Kenya cabinet

Former UN chief Kofi Annan said today that a Kenyan coalition cabinet formed to end a deadly post-election crisis was not too…

Former UN chief Kofi Annan said today that a Kenyan coalition cabinet formed to end a deadly post-election crisis was not too big to be workable.

Mr Annan led mediators who forged a February 28th power-sharing deal after east Africa's biggest economy slid into riots and ethnic violence, killing at least 1,200 people and uprooting 300,000.

After a six-week impasse over how the agreement would work, President Mwai Kibaki unveiled a new coalition cabinet on Sunday and named his opposition rival Raila Odinga as prime minister.

Mr Odinga and the rest of the 41-member cabinet are due to be formally sworn-in at a State House ceremony on Thursday.

Speaking to reporters on his arrival in the capital Nairobi, Mr Annan appealed for all Kenyans to work with the two men.

"I know some would have liked to see a smaller cabinet, which would have been easier to manage," he said. The challenge now was to mould the cabinet into an effective unit, he added.

"If they're able to do that, then size won't matter."

The new government line-up is the biggest and most expensive in Kenyan history. Under Mr Annan's deal in February, the divided administration must also pass a new constitution within a year.