DaUntil Sunday, he was a dedicated employee
at one of the flower companies in Naivasha. Now camping
at the local police station, Mr John Miago can only thank
God for being alive as he makes arrangements to travel to
his rural home in Central Kenya.He is one of the thousands
of families who have fled from the place they had called
home for the past 10 or so years because of the recent violence,
which saw at least 30 people killed by marauding youths
in the town and the surrounding areas.
According to Mr Miago, the level of brutality exhibited
by the attackers was blood-curdling. It was like a scene
from a horror movie as they moved from door to door hacking
to death members of one community. “The group was
callous and ruthless and appeared to be on a revenge mission,”
he recalls.
He counts himself lucky, having managed to escape, and says
many of his colleagues perished in a night of terror.
He vows never to return to Naivasha even if his employer
gave him a pay rise. “It’s not worth it,”
he says with finality.
His sentiments are shared by a colleague, Mr Henry Oluoko,
who is bitter for losing his household goods and now has
to start life from scratch. “I have undergone very
traumatising moments for the past three days, and I’m
fed up,” he says. “My family is going hungry
and I’m leaving for home with nothing to show for
it despite having worked for more than 10 years.”
The experiences of Mr Miago and Mr Oluoko sum up the plight
of thousands of workers on Naivasha flower farms who have
been caught up in violence which threatens to erase the
gains made by the industry, one of Kenya’s major foreign
exchange earners.
Now experts warn that if Kenyan loses its European market
share to competitors, it will be almost impossible to regain
it. Some East African countries and others farther afield
are already posing a threat to the Kenyan flower sector,
and it is upon the Government to move with speed and protect
the industry.
“The Government has no choice but to move with speed
and take steps to help to cushion the effects of violence,”
says one.
The advent of the multi-million-shilling farms has seen
the Naivasha’s fortunes change in the past few years.
It has spurred economic growth, with traders around the
fresh-water lake doing roaring business. Middle and high-cost
residential estates have been coming up, with public transporters
making a kill.
A general improvement in infrastructure has been recorded,
especially roads leading to the farms being tarmacked. The
area is also home to several tourist-class hotels.
Currently, the industry is the third foreign exchange earner
after tourism and tea and earned the country about Sh56
billion in 2006. According to experts, the sector is growing
at unprecedented rate of 126 per cent per annum, the highest
recorded figure in all the local sectors of the economy.
The industry has also been able to export labour to foreign
countries investing in flower growing, such as Ethiopia,
Zambia and Uganda.
Other dependants of the industry are suppliers of various
products, ranging from agro-chemicals to polythene sheets.
But the rosy scenario seems to be changing — and fast.
The industry faces a bleak future after most of its workforce
were displaced by the fresh flare of ethnic violence which
started on Sunday.
With more than 50 farms situated in the area, the horticultural
sector had lured thousands of people across the country,
making Naivasha one of the largest cosmopolitan towns in
the country. Half of the 50,000-strong workforce is drawn
from outside Nakuru district.
Quite a few farms are faced with closure following the three
days of violence. Most of the workers were housed at the
sprawling Karagita estate, the worst hit, with most of the
deaths and destruction being reported at the area of mainly
low-income earners
“We are watching the backbone of the Naivasha town
snapping under the weight of post-election violence,”
says a local trader, Mr Kimani Waraga. “The turn of
events will surely affect business for many years to come.”
Some of the big farms, including Homegrown, are counting
losses amounting to millions of shillings. “We are
talking of Sh30 million losses in a day occasioned by the
violence,” says a source at the farm.
The farm has more than 4,000 workers, but only less than
200 are currently reporting to work, dealing a body blow
to the farm, which deals in perishable goods.
Bigot Flower Company which has more than 1,000 workers,
is operating with a skeleton staff.
Flowers, according to experts, need round-the-clock attention
and any disruption translates into losses. The exodus has
not spared technical experts, the brain behind the success
story of flower farming in Africa, not to mention casual
labourers.
We are talking about well trained and educated personnel
who brought a wealth of experience to the fast-growing industry
and who are unable to work because of the ongoing clashes,”
says another Homegrown source.
Oserian was a bit lucky, however, and it is business as
usual at the company. “We have momentarily weathered
the storm of post-election violence and ae operating at
a full house,” says a manager.
Most of the firm’s workforce is housed within the
premises, while the others live nearby, which was not affected.
When the Saturday Nation visited the area on Monday, most
of the workers of various ethnic communities were being
counselled on on how to coexist peacefully. Schools built
by the industry’s interested parties as part of their
corporate social responsibility are deserted as most of
the workers seek refuge at the nearby Naivasha maximum security
prison and the police station.
However, all is not lost for the flower farm workers as
the companies have pooled resources to address their plight.
“We are working closely with the Red Cross in an attempt
to put up a temporary shelter for all the people affected
by the skirmishes,” says a source in one of the companies
who did not want to be identified because he’s not
authorised to talk to the media.
“We have already identified the ground to put up a
temporary camp and have incorporated several stakeholders
to help pool resources for the noble cause,” he adds.
The ultimate goal, the companies say, is to set up permanent
housing for the employees to a void a repeat of what they
have experienced.
Also feeling the heat of the violence is the thriving local
hotel industry. Naivasha had until Sunday enjoyed relative
calm. In fact, it was being taunted as one of the safest
towns in Rift Valley province, the epicentre of the violence.
Landmark peace deals have been sealed in the town, with
the most notable one being that of Sudan.
During the signing of the pact, South African President
Thambo Mbeki and his Sudan counterpart, Omar el Bashir,
graced the occasion.
Local political groupings have also found Naivasha an ideal
destination for retreats to thrash out various issues.
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