Maravi

(LUSAKATIMES) Diaspora Project 2012

Diaspora Project 2012
Wednesday, February 23, 2011, 20:48
By Chanda K. Chishimba

Many Zambians living in the Diaspora have yearned to invest, back home, their hard-earned foreign currency. The feeling of having a tangible investment back home breeds excitement about one’s security should that individual decide to migrate back to the motherland.

Diaspora based Zambians have engaged in transatlantic businesses with their relatives and friends in Zambia, ranging from clothes, electronic gadgets, rearing chickens, house construction, mining supply contracts, and cosmetics supplies to mention just a few. While Zambians abroad have done this in good faith, the majority of our people back home have viewed this link as a cash cow.

This negative trend has eroded any confidence among the Diaspora Zambians that they had to invest in Zambia through friends and relatives. The potential loss of income from this lack of trust is colossal. As Zambians living in the Diaspora, we have merely complained about the attitude of our people in Zambia but we have not sought to come up with a more viable business venture, both that fulfills our potential to influence the world market and one through which our interests will be served.

Realizing that partnerships with our friends in Zambia only serve to enrich them, I have reached the inevitable conclusion that we only have ourselves to blame. For how can we continue pouring water into an ocean and expect it to dry up. Diaspora Zambians need to seriously tap into their exposure and potential to be a united front by championing large scale economic ideas. The privilege of living in a developed society must serve as impetus for us to strive to innovate as we are exposed to the way our friends engage in development. Diaspora Project 2012 is an effect of the negative returns we endure by investing at a small scale through our relatives in Zambia. As the name suggests, the project will target 2012 as its initiation year. Here is how it will work;

A membership of 5000 Diaspora Zambians will be targeted by the year 2012. The major goal of this project is to raise $13,000,000 within a year. How is this possible? Each member will contribute $50 every week for 52 weeks. Member contributions will not start until the targeted membership is achieved. Funds may be deposited in a reputable financial institution as agreed upon by the membership. The purpose of this project will be to raise a substantial amount of money, collectively, and target aninvestment sector in Zambia such as property development, cement manufacturing plant, pharmaceuticals, road construction, commercial farming, banking, insurance, software development, computer assembly plant etc.

A management team will be established to explore issues such as registration of the entity, legal requirements, financial management, recruiting, logistics, and business sourcing. In the beginning, this management team must be able to sacrifice their personal funds in order to realize the goals of the entity. The project does not take off until we have all the targeted 5000 members.

Diaspora Project 2012 will endeavor to create a difference from the usual poor quality and sub-standard goods manufactured in Zambia. The Project will engage field experts in Research and Development, Product Development, Packaging, Shipping, Global Marketing, and Resource Development. The project will aspire to penetrate the global market place by producing highly competitive products, products that meet or exceed international standards. Massiveinvestment in this area will be required.

The Project will empower members to research and share development ideas for our common good. The intellectualism of each member will be explored and developed.

The Zambian government will be enticed to provide tangible benefits to the Project through acquisition of land, tax incentives, and foreign trade policy alignment. If the Zambian government can extend a favorable windfall tax regime to foreign investors, they can certainly do the same to Diaspora Project 2012.

While we indigenous Zambians sit back and arm chair critique Zambian government policies, our colleagues from other countries are engaging in meaningful investments in our own backyard. The advantage that Diaspora Project 2012 brings to the Zambian economy will be immense. As opposed to foreign investors who externalize profits, the Project will reinvest back into the Zambian economy. The Project will also create jobs for the local people.

The ultimate goal of the Project will be to become the most ingenious economic block in Africa. The potential of this Project to engage in meaningful global trade will be its cornerstone.

In any investment, investors intend to realize a profit. Members of the Project will share profits through their equity concentration in the Project.

The need to engage serious debate on this issue is of utmost importance. For so long, Zambians in the Diaspora have been a laughing stock of our people back home, that after spending so many years abroad, we still have nothing to show for it. Yet, over the years, we may have contributed to our people being very rich and comfortable through our hard earned money and bogus investments that they lure us by.

It is time that we as Zambians in the Diaspora put our energies together and developed an initiative that will benefit us and our children. The onus is ours to prove that we can make a meaningfulinvestment in Zambia while going about with our daily lives in the Diaspora.

Labels: DIASPORA

posted by MrK @ 2:52 PM