By 
The Second Republic has put up mechanisms to lure investors and skilled workers from the diaspora, going an extra mile beyond just earning diaspora remittances.The Head of State and Government and Commander in Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, President Dr Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa recently took pride in ”the modest and successful campaign launched by Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (Zesa) to attract some of its engineers and technicians to return,” and give back to their motherland.
Minister of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Dr Anxious masuka in an exclusive interview to TechnoMag also revealed plans to go beyond diaspora remittances and instead l, ”working with elements within the Zimbabwean diaspora in Britain as being the ideal trading link between the homeland or former homeland and the UK, with particular emphasis in the early stages on horticultural produce.”
The diaspora population has links with both Zimbabwe and where they live now, and often have maintained cultural ties as well as family ties, even if they are second or third generation in their present country and could well now be foreign citizens. This augurs well with the second republic’s vision of a middle income economy by 2030 as seen in the Indian diaspora over more than a century and the more modern Chinese diaspora. With giant global companies in these two countries well-known everywhere, there are a lot of the businesses that supply mainly the home market or are specialists in other areas, especially business areas with cultural significance. And these companies get a major boost from their diaspora, and horticulture and related cultural foods are one of the biggest areas where you really do need a diaspora community to get your foot through the door..
Zimbabwean diaspora is a source of financial help for families back home. President Mnangagwa and his Government have already been seeing the diaspora as a far greater asset, both for investors and for skilled people. In the hard and soft sell campaign around the world launched by the Second Republic for investment, outlining the attractions of Zimbabwe, President Mnangagwa is also in contact with the diaspora, and makes time for potential investors in this group. The President has also noted that with the expansion of the economy, some of those who left for greener pastures can be told that there are some good pastures now back home if they want to return.
Comments