USAID/OTI Kenya Fact Sheet
September 2008
USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI) launched the OTI/Kenya program in June 2008 following the adoption of the February peace accord and power-sharing agreement. Kenya’s competing political parties accepted the agreement in the wake of interethnic violence that followed flawed national elections. Under the power-sharing arrangement, Mwai Kibaki continues as president, while Raila Odinga serves in the newly created position of prime minister. However, it is uncertain that the agreement will provide an enduring settlement to underlying ethno-political frictions. The two principal political parties now face the challenge of implementing the power-sharing agreement and recovering from the conflict. In addition to death and property destruction, many areas of Kenya have experienced recent population shifts related to ethnicity; up to 600,000 people have been displaced from their homes.
The OTI program in Kenya will contribute to the overall U.S. goal of supporting peace and stability in the Greater Horn of Africa, as the recent political violence has severely undermined Kenya’s position as an anchor of stability in an unstable region running from Somalia to Sudan and Chad. The United States has committed to providing resources to Kenya to assist in reducing tensions and enabling economic, political, and social recovery from the recent post-election violence.
To this end, OTI will work to increase the capacity of Kenyan state and non-state actors to—
- Promote and enable broad-based recovery from the 2007/2008 election-related violence
- Take prompt steps to address the underlying causes of instability
In close coordination with the Government of Kenya, the U.S. Embassy, the USAID Mission in Nairobi, other donors, independent media outlets, and civil society, OTI/Kenya is using an in-kind small-grants mechanism to support the above objectives at both the local and national levels. OTI has selected Development Alternatives Inc. as its partner in Kenya to assist with implementation of activities within the framework described above.
OTI/Kenya Contact: Brendan Wilson-Barthes, Africa Program Manager, (202) 712-5072,
bwilson-barthes@usaid.gov
|
