MaichBlack wrote:@vvs - Have you read the story? He is very categorical that the company CANNOT donate land to the squatters. He just wants the squatters and workers to be treated fairly and humanly. For example, the access roads should be re-opened. Can you imagine walking 4 kms around a huge piece of land while there used to be an access road through the farm/land and the journey was only 400 metres!
There are companies that know how to "live" with people. Some build schools and hospitals. Some sink boreholes for the community to draw water from. Some start bursary funds. Some build/repair roads. Like the flower farm across the river from Goingwa (Thika) built a very nice bridge across the very wide river (I am not sure if it the one called river Channia) to make life easier for their employees and other citizens.
Others companies - still stuck in the colonial era - close access roads forcing people including their own employees to walk 10 times the distance to and from work. You can't even collect firewood - not that they need it or you are negatively affecting anything.
1) They are squatters [Not something that's the fault of Kakuzi or most of its shareholders who bought shares post-1963]
2) Theft and arson has been a huge problem. I have a feeling one of the reasons for 'closing' those panya routes was to reduce/prevent theft/arson.
3) Kakuzi is going into high value produce e.g. Macadamia. Each kilo stolen is a huge loss. Have you seen pineapples sold along Thika Road [Makuyu]? Where do you think these come from?
4) Kakuzi sells wood/firewood.
It is NOT easy to balance these demands. I have a feeling the number/population of squatters has increased substantially since 1963 and is Kakuzi trying to prevent further encroachment?
Greedy when others are fearful. Very fearful when others are greedy - to paraphrase Warren Buffett