Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki urged the country's politicians to set aside personal ambitions on Thursday, hoping to stop a rift in the ruling coalition from further undermining his year-old government.
Kibaki urged leaders to focus instead on building the nation, a call designed to appeal to a country increasingly disillusioned with his slow progress in meeting pre-election promises to revive the economy.
"We must, therefore, set our priorities correctly and decide whether to continue politicking or to settle down to improving our lives," Kibaki said in a televised New Year address.
"I urge leaders and all Kenyans in general to put national interest before personal ambitions," Kibaki said.
Divisions in the government widened this week when a powerful party defied Kibaki's attempt to assert his authority over his National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) by merging all its constituent parties into one.
Analysts say the government is unlikely to split apart in the immediate future, but warn that Kenya's 30 million people are increasingly fed up with the spectacle of politicians arguing instead of concentrating on implementing policy.
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