Maravi

(ZIMBABWE GUARDIAN) Zimbabwe diaspora should fight against sanctions

Zimbabwe diaspora should fight against sanctions
By: Dambudzo Mapuranga
Posted: Friday, April 23, 2010 11:53 am

THE Zimbabwe Diaspora Community has been calling for three things as Zimbabwe moves towards a new Constitution. The community wants the new constitution to give them voting rights, dual citizenship and non-resident Members of Parliament.

While figures vary it is estimated that there are about 4,5 million Zimbabweans across the globe and the majority of them are in South Africa and the United Kingdom. These individuals have made a significant impact on the lives of ordinary Zimbabweans back home not only as they contribute economically through remittances but also the gap they have left has cataclysmically affected the country socially and politically.

The chief reason Zimbabwe’s Diaspora puts forward for wanting voting rights, dual citizenship and non-resident Members of Parliament is that the Diaspora as a collective is an economic powerhouse.

According to Gilbert Muponda of the ENG debacle the Zimbabwe Diaspora is a source of permanent cash to Zimbabwe and as such deserves to have a say on how the country is run.

The major thorn to the Diaspora rose is that the community is not organized and as such cannot speak with one voice. There are two types of Zimbabweans in this community – the academics, those who left to further their education and the majority is made up of those who left for economic reasons.


Article continues below
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

There are however those who argue that there is a third group made up of those who left for political reasons. When truly analysed, this third group really consists of individuals who have used politics as a means to gain access to the West but their chief reason for leaving Zimbabwe is economic. There are of course those like Gilbert Muponda who claim political persecution from the Government all the while being criminals who should come back to Zimbabwe and face the music.

Voices from the Diaspora

It has become fashionable for many in the Diaspora to claim the only way they will come back to Zimbabwe or invest in their mother country is when President Robert Mugabe has been removed from power.

The question that then begs to be asked is “Exactly whom do they expect to do their bidding?” Zimbabwe’s current population is estimated to be around 13 million and the Diaspora is just but a quarter of this. Can it then be safely assumed that this one-quarter of the population regards itself superior to the majority who have remained in Zimbabwe and borne the brunt of the economic and political on slaughter of the West?

Would it not have been more prudent for the Diaspora to actually show it patriotism by standing together with Zimbabwe against this onslaught and yet many within the Diaspora have taken advantage of this situation to personally benefit on the backs of the suffering of the majority back home.

There are those within the Diaspora who claim because they have brought properties this should translate into dual citizenship and voting rights. They claim these properties for which they pay taxes and other related rates serve to develop the social infrastructure.

If they really had any touch with reality they would know that such trivialities have no major impact on Zimbabwe’s economy as a whole. What they have done is make a personal investment from which they expect to get a return sooner or later and like any investor this does not warrant them getting dual citizenship or voting rights. The next step from this would be giving every investor in every sector of or economy citizenship and voting rights because they are contributing something to Zimbabwe.

Does that really sound sensible?

Many in the Diaspora are not doing well. Should not this be time for them to re-evaluate their priorities and return to Zimbabwe?

A significant number of Zimbabweans in South Africa and the United Kingdom are there illegally, some are not certain that their refugee or asylum papers will ever go through and others continue to soldier on waiting for the day that Home Affairs catches up with them and deports them.

The few professionals who have established themselves and those few individuals who have made a killing due to their political connectivity by promising desperate Zimbabweans legal papers are drives of the Zimbabwe Diaspora debate because they have specific goals. Their selfishness feeds on the fears and insecurities of a majority who would be better of in Zimbabwe picking up the pieces and rebuilding their country.

Most Zimbabweans are afraid their fate will be decided by a handful of people far off with no real allegiance to the country, with no real understanding of what the situation on the ground is. Should they have the same rights as the Diaspora just because it represents 7.2% of the Gross Domestic Product? Should they have the same rights as men and women who over the years cheered and pushed for foreign governments to deny us development funds?

Now is the time to look and learn

Instead of just pointing at what other countries have done for their Diaspora communities, it is time Zimbabwe’s Diaspora emulated what other communities have done for their countries.

The Diaspora needs to organize itself so that it not only speaks but acts with one voice. It needs to find balance such that it is reflective of the views of the majority not of a handful of Zimbabweans as has been currently been taking place, where a few individuals form associations creating a façade of membership with the ultimate goal being that of personal enrichment.

The threat of manipulation by political parties runs high and as such there have to be safe guards against the usual individuals who are known to take advantage of events to further their political aspirations.

The Diaspora needs to understand that theirs is a role for the benefit of an entire nation and not for a political party, ethnic group or individual.

The damage caused by the brain drain on Zimbabwe’s social and economic development is hardly offset by the financial transfers made by the Diaspora. What else can the Diaspora do in order to tip the balance in favour of a more positive impact on the country?

Meet the Challenge

It is time that the Zimbabwe Diaspora started putting its money where its mouth is literary and figuratively. Instead of speaking ill of Zimbabwe, let it start showing its patriotism and connection to their fellow countrymen back home.

Let the Diaspora engage policymakers, the private sector and the media across the globe to reverse the negativity that many helped fan with their lies and deceit. Not only will such action separate those who truly have an attachment to Zimbabwe and wish to see its development, but also it will right a wrong that some diasporans committed against their countrymen over the past decade.

Civic society groups in the Diaspora should undertake community-based projects to educate their counterparts on the benefits of standing as a united people who can rise above their differences and protect their country’s image.

As things stand, there are no Zimbabwean-funded civic societies, instead what we have are civic societies who depend on foreign aid and many have become parrots that sing to the tune of their paymasters.

What Zimbabwe needs are independently funded civic groups that effectively advocate Zimbabwe’s development.

For once let us have individuals who instead of petitioning the EU to place punitive measures on Zimbabwe, petition and advocate the EU for a better relationship with Zimbabwe based on mutual respect.

While the Diaspora has been arguing for voting rights and non-resident Members of Parliament they have not put forward a mechanism as to how this community will synchronize its input and that of the majority of Zimbabweans back home. How will the Diaspora support the country and its leadership and take part in policy formulation when many of them have had no real touch with the country except what they tell each other, read on the internet and see in the media?

What real investment can the Diaspora bring to Zimbabwe? It is apparent that with the exception of a few individuals in this community, many are struggling to get by and cannot offer a robust, vibrant and competitive investment.

Zimbabwe’s private sector does not need more micro and small sized enterprises. It needs to move these to the next level and provide an avenue of absorbing its unemployed.

The Diaspora should serve as a catalyst for channelling investment into Zimbabwe on their own right but also through seeking out and facilitating investments by companies. It is important to note that what Zimbabwe needs are investors not donors.

Instead of crying foul over being left out, now is time for the Diaspora to prove that it has direction and is not a fragmented grouping lead by dubious individuals whose primary goal is to see the continued on slaughter of Zimbabwe so as to remain relevant politically and economically.

__________________________________________
Dambudzo Mapuranga writes from the United States. He can be reached via mapurangad *** yahoo.com

Labels: DIASPORA, SANCTIONS, ZDERA

posted by MrK @ 8:41 PM