KEY POINTS:
New Zealand company Olivado is continuing with plans to start production at its $2.5 million avocado extraction factory in Nairobi, despite Kenyan turmoil that has resulted in 300 people being killed and tens of thousands displaced.
Olivado's production manager for Kenya, Alan Mountfort, said the company's staff in
Nairobi were all safe.
"But some made rapid movements into safe zones," he told NZPA today.
The violence which followed the December 27 election is the latest problem to confront Olivado after engineer Julian Nathan, father of the company's managing director, was murdered in September while helping set up the Nairobi plant.
"All these things do affect the way you think, but we are continuing with our plans to start production in the new season in March," Mr Mounfort said.
He said the violence had not been as widespread as international media reports suggested. He compared Nairobi to the geographic size of Christchurch, but with four or five times greater population.
"You can have unrest in certain areas with no effect on large parts of the city.
"But immediately after the elections we made sure all the staff were safe. Most of businesses give their staff holidays from the second week of December to the second week of January, so a lot were out of the city."
Olivado employs a dozen Kenyan fulltime staff and, depending on the time of year, up to another dozen casuals.
Despite a New Zealand government warning that New Zealanders' security was at "extreme risk" in Kenya, Mr Mountfort said Olivado chairman Gary Hannam planned to go there later this month. Mr Mountfort was booked to return there in February to prepare for the first processing of avocados.
"You don't take these decisions (to tavel) lightly but by the same token I don't think any of us would go walking into a booby trap," he said.
"We have very good contacts within the (Kenyan) government and locally, so we'll have our own information before we make decisions."
Although Kenyan police have not arrested anyone for Mr Nathan's murder, Mr Mountfort said he understood security guards appeared in court at the end of December charged with dereliction of duty over the apartment break-in that resulted in the death. The case was adjourned until the new year.
"Things are happening slowly but the Kenyan authorities are pursuing the murder investigation and we are confident they will get a result," Mr Mountfort said.
Mr Nathan, 76, was beaten to death while two colleagues in another room were bound, blind-folded and gagged by intruders.
As well as security issues, Olivado like other businesses in Kenya has had to contend with poor infrastructure. But Mr Mountfort said its factory had a reliable electricity supply and secured alternative water supplies, "so generally the factory is ready to go".
- NZPA
