(HERALD) Diasporans engage World Bank to aid Zim
Diasporans engage World Bank to aid ZimBusiness Reporter
ZIMBABWEANS living abroad this week engaged the World Bank in a move aimed at luring the global moneylender to support its capital mobilisation for the country and skill repatriation. It is estimated that over 3 million Zimbabweans live outside the country.
Zimbabwe Diaspora Chamber and Global Zimbabwe Forum met the World Bank in separate meetings held in Pretoria and Washington where the two parties exchanged notes on how to mobilise the Diaspora capital formation for Zimbabwe to help the inclusive Government regain lost economic potential owing to years of sanctions worsened by global economic recession, CAJ News reported.
"The World Bank was interested in our mobilisation of the Diaspora to support the development of Zimbabwe through capital formation and skills repatriation," said Mr Luke Zunga, ZDC treasurer-general.
"The way forward is to find resources for mobilisation and to organise training and awareness programmes so that Zimbabweans in the Diaspora could assist in the development of Zimbabwe."
The Global Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwe Diaspora Development Chamber was represented by Mr Zunga, chairman of Diaspora Forum Mr Solomon Chikohwero, coordinator Nora Tapiwa and Mr Thompson Moraka.
Mr Zunga said the Zimbabwe Diaspora Forum cherished the meetings as their programme was based on replicating how the World Bank was created in 1944.
He said the World Bank was created by the com- ing together of European countries and America to contribute a fund for the post development of Europe.
"The matters centred on how the Diaspora can impact on the development of Zimbabwe in respect of development programmes and remittances. The prospects were that we should finalise our business plan on remittances to Zimbabwe," said Zunga.
Last October, the group held similar meeting with the Reserve Bank of South Africa with a view to set a money transfer agency for the Zimbabwe Diaspora.
Last week, Senator for Chisipite Mr Obert Gutu urged the inclusive Government to formulate policies and strategies to harness resources from Zimbabweans living in the Diaspora as part of efforts to resuscitate the economy.
Mr Gutu said instead of looking outside to multilateral lending institutions and donor countries for financial aid, "let us look within ourselves."
Senator Gutu said while the inclusive Government recognised, in the Short Term Economic Recovery Programme, the important role that remittances from the Diaspora could play in addressing economic challenges that the country was facing, it should outline a concrete plan of harnessing those.
He said the inclusive Government should set up a Ministerial Task Force that included such Ministries as Regional and Integration and Co-operation, Foreign Affairs and Economic Planning to compile a register of Zimbabweans living in the Diaspora.
The Task Force should send officials to the Diaspora to register all Zimbabweans and request them to contribute to the reconstruction of their country, he said.
Studies had shown that remittances from nationals living in the Diaspora contributed immensely to economic development of any country.
Labels: DIASPORA, World Bank
posted by MrK @ 5:48 PM
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