The draft recognises President Kibaki and Mr Odinga as the coalition's principals but does not specifically rule on the pecking order, which sparked controversy when the leaders toured Rift Valley Province last month.

Final arbiter

According to the draft agreement, the Panel is expected to act as a dispute resolution mechanism.  It will serve as the final arbiter on any dispute arising in the coalition.  Its decision will be final.

A source on Thursday said that the agreement is meant to avoid pitfalls which led to the collapse of the Narc coalition after the 2005 referendum.  The party suffered a major blow when LDP, one of its partners, withdrew from the coalition which defeated Kanu during the 2002 General Election.

President Kibaki appointed Kanu MPs to the Cabinet when LDP severed ties with NAK, its partner in Narc. Writing an agreement on how the Grand Coalition was to resolve its disputes, was one of the requirements under the power-sharing deal mediated by former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan, to end post-election violence in which over 1,200 people were killed and another 350,000 displaced from their homes.

The draft agreement emphasises the need for the coalition to resolve its disputes in private, with the venue, time and date of some meetings remaining secret.

The future of the Grand Coalition Government hinges on the agreement which, if adopted, is expected to seal all the loopholes threatening its unity.  Once adopted, the agreement is also expected to resolve all the disputes that have from time to time rocked the coalition since its inception.

It comes at a time when members of the coalition government are set to hold a bonding meeting to ensure smooth running of government operations now that parties with diverse interests have agreed to work in the coalition.  The draft agreement will be presented to members of the National Dialogue and Reconciliation team when it resumes its sittings on May 14.  The talks are chaired by Nigerian diplomat Oluyemi Adeniji.

Propose changes

Other members of the panel include Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi, Ms Martha Karua (Justice), Mr William Ruto (Agriculture), Mr James Orengo (Lands) and Dr Sally Kosgey (Higher Education).  Also in the team are Mr Mutula Kilonzo (Nairobi Metropolitan), Prof Sam Ongeri (Education) and Foreign Affairs minister Moses Wetang'ula.

Sources told the Daily Nation that copies of the draft agreement had already been circulated to the ministers, who are expected to study it and propose changes before they meet again for talks.

The National Accord and Reconciliation Act recently passed by Parliament, will be the basis for the agreement, which will also lay down the rules on policy, structure and procedures of the coalition.  If adopted, the draft prepared by Mr Kilonzo, also the Mbooni MP, will further bind the newly-constituted grand coalition and hold it for the next five years.

In recent weeks, some politicians have argued that the grand coalition is unlikely to last three years. Among those who have voiced such sentiments is assistant minister Mwangi Kiunjuri.

Said a source: "If the agreement is adopted, the coalition government will stick together and as such we shall witness an end to all the political bickering we have been witnessing."

According to the 10-page draft, the performance of the coalition Government will be guided by respect, honesty, tolerance and trust among other qualities.  "The coalition will always seek to make decisions built on consensus; and when this is not achievable, the parties will seek to build compromise to achieve their goals," reads the document.  "Coalition partners do not believe in and will not adopt a winner takes it all attitude, acknowledging that this will not sustain the coalition."

The agreement defines the structure of the coalition as having included individual parties' parliamentary groups, the joint parliamentary group, the coalition's negotiating panel, the coordination board, the coalition panel and the principals.  The coalition panel will the highest decision-making organ and is expected to address all issues affecting the coalition.

Decision making shall be by consensus, failure of which a majority of four out of five members present will carry the day.  Any member of the panel can call a meeting; and all of them have to be present to constitute a quorum.  The panel is also expected to promote reconciliation and make recommendations on any issues affecting the coalition and its other organs.

Members of the panel are not expected to engage in any public disagreements.  They are also expected to communicate their recommendations and decisions through the coalition structure or the Cabinet.

The draft agreement proposes that the 42-member Cabinet meets every Thursday between 10am to 1pm either formally, or informally.  The purposes of the informal meetings will be to seek the input of ministers, on various issues in their ministries.

"Ministers with the intention of raising issues during the informal sessions, must inform and co-ordinate with the office of the President at least by the end of office business every Tuesday in writing," says the document.

Draft policy

The coalition partners are also expected to appoint a 10-member committee to draft a grand coalition policy document.  This document is to be implemented by the executive and the coalition's MPs.

The document also proposes the formation of a grand coalition co-ordination board of 10 members, out of which eight shall be from among Cabinet ministers, four from each side of the coalition partners.  They must be nominated by the two principals.