Association disputes there are "stranded Kenyans" |01 July 2004

AKIS chairman Justus Wanekeya also termed as exaggerated a claim in the article that the expatriates are unable to repatriate their savings.
"There is not even one Kenyan whose contract has ended who has been unable to travel back and the Seychelles Government has been honouring the terms of the workers' contracts and paying their tickets in foreign exchange," he said.

He said he was aware that the journalist tried to send updates to the Nairobi-based newspaper but these arrived too late to correct errors in the article which he said was in part based on misinformation.
The article claimed that Kenyans whose contracts had ended could not go home since British Airways, which was the only airline accepting rupees from Nairobi-bound passengers has stopped flying to Seychelles, and Kenya Airways was only accepting foreign exchange, which the potential travellers said they had no access to.

"Seychelles Government is, and has been helping the Kenyans to repatriate a proportion of their earnings on a monthly basis through standing orders with various banks," Mr Wanekeya said.
"The same applies to Kenyans who work for the Indian Ocean Tuna factory," he said, adding that a proportion of their salaries is paid in the Kenyans' accounts back home, and they get tickets from the company to go home as stipulated in the workers' contracts of employment.

"Furthermore, steps are already separately being taken by Seychelles Government to resolve the matter with Kenya Airways," Mr Wanekeya said.
A senior Seychelles Government official said that the government has been honouring its obligations to all workers on contract and will continue to do so.