Could EPZ factories in Kenya be running gulags?

Could EPZ factories in Kenya and particularly Mombasa be running gulags or sweatshops? Could employees in these organizations be subjected to more than other employees normally go through? Why are the organizations so guarded about their operations?

As a Corporate Communication Proffessional I can smell a skunk in these organizations. The first communication reference point for any organization is at the gate. At the EPZ, the gateman is not just a guard but a menacing bulldog- meant to scare away would be job seekers and other miscreants. He will not just scare you away; he will also ensure that you don’t go past the gate.

He gives you a snap shot of the organization’s communication culture and by extension how the organization treats its employees and as far as I am concerned all is not well.

EPZ seem to have the same problem, wherever they are located. Last month a building housing garment factories in Dhaka Bangladesh collapsed and press reports indicate that more than 1000 people died. After the tragedy, questions were raised about the working conditions of the employees. It is averred that they were subjected to near slave-like conditions.

Well, Bangladesh might appear to be far from Kenya, the only connection being that both are former British colonies and therefore congregate at a club of countries called the Commonwealth of Nations whose head is the Queen of England.

However, there is a more powerful and neo-colonial commercial connection that is related to international trade. Both Kenya and Bangladesh are developing countries that are thirsty for international investors who will help quench the thirst of massive unemployment that is rampant among the youth in these countries.

In the quest to attract that much needed investment, countries like Kenya and Bangladesh are ready to bend head over shoulder to attract that investment. They are ready to give any tax holiday available to impress the investors. They are ready to sell the souls of their youth as cheap labour to these investors whose only interest is the bottom line. For this reason, countries in the South do not put much effort in closely monitoring what the investors are subjecting the employees to just in case they offend them.

During one of the television interviews, the former Chief Executive of the Export Processing Zone Authority Mr. Albert Gumo was asked by a TV presenter whether he would go down in history as an Executive who presided over the re-introduction of slavery in Kenya through the Export Processing Zone factories.

I cannot exactly recall the answer but I what I can attest is that all is not well in Export Processing Zone factories in Kenya and particularly in Mombasa. This I say without a shadow of doubt or contradiction because I am sure that workers in these industries could be working under the most stressful conditions ever. Stories of what happens in the industries abound. There have been allegations that workers don’t have breaks and are herded to meet stringent targets failure to which there are repercussions. Besides there have been stories about supervisors demanding sexual favours from powerless women who want to be hired but just like anything else about the EPZ factories, those allegations are swept under the carpet faster than they can be investigated.

One can easily blame the management of these organizations for their conduct yet government is at the heart of the problem. This is because the EPZA Act (1990) supports preferential treatment for the organizations. They get everything cheap - cheap labour, cheap power, tax holidays, immunity from national laws, low rents etc.

Their operations of EPZ companies whether in Kenya or Bangladesh are also at the heart of the debate by development scholar’s as to whether they really improve the lives of their employees? If they don’t then it is probably time that the EPZA Act (1990) is reviewed to ensure that they now operate above board. Secondly, it is time to demand more responsibility from these organizations in terms of how they benefit the communities where they operate.

Ends…….