Zimbabwe government offers assurances to Nestlé

Nestle has been offered assurances over the safety of its staff by the Zimbabwean government following the company’s decision to suspend operations in the country.

The company has come under heavy pressure to buy milk from a dairy controlled by president Robert Mugabe.

Nestle said that government officials and police had paid an unannounced visit to the factory and a tanker of milk was forced upon the factory. Two company managers were questioned and released the same day.

“Since under such circumstances normal operations and the safety of employees are no longer guaranteed, Nestlƒ© decided to temporarily shut down the factory,” the company said.

Since this decision was made, Zimbabwe’s industry and commerce minister Welshman Ncube called a meeting of Nestlƒ© executives, representatives of Gushungo Dairy Estate which is controlled by Grace Mugabe, the president’s, and officials of Dairiboard Zimbabwe, a state-controlled milk processing and distribution enterprise.

It has been proposed that milk produced by Gushungo will be purchased through a cooperative arrangement involving Dairiboard, and that Nestlĩ will purchase raw milk from the cooperative so that the relationship with Gushungo remains at a distance.

Nestle previously ended a supply relationship with Gushungo in October after coming under pressure from international human rights activists who put a spotlight on the Mugabe family’s control of the dairy.

Industry minister Ncube has now assured Nestlĩ that the dairy will no longer interfere with operations. He said that Nestle Zimbabwe has the right to independently control processes and food safety in its operations.