EXCERPT:

Prime minister-designate Raila Odinga has told the BBC his priority will be to rebuild Kenya after a deal to end the two-month political crisis.

He pledged to help those who had been displaced, lost their property or lost their jobs during the violence in which some 1,500 people died.

Many Kenyans have been celebrating the power-sharing deal between Mr Odinga and President Mwai Kibaki.

But some of those displaced question whether ethnic hatreds can be healed.

“It’s become a habit of saying ‘peace, peace, peace’ every now and then and after peace we see flames of fire,” a woman living in a displacement camp in the western town of Eldoret told the BBC. 

But in nearby Kisumu, Mr Odinga’s home town, thousands of dancing and cheering people poured onto the streets to celebrate the deal brokered by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.

HERE’S MORE …

Mr Odinga said the agreement was “just a piece of paper” – the most important thing was the will behind it.

“It means we recognise Mr Kibaki as president and he recognises that there were some flaws in the elections,” he told the BBC.

And, he said, the coalition had a lot of work to do – constitutional and legal reforms as well as land reforms to address “historical injustices”.

FINALLY…

He hoped for a new constitution within a year and fresh elections within two as Mr Annan had given the coalition a maximum life of two years, after which it should be reviewed.

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Sent by Simon.