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Kudzaishe Muhamba Herald Reporter
Presidential envoy and Zimbabwe’s ambassador at-large to the Americas and Europe, Prophet Uebert Angel has commended the role played by Zimbabwe’s Diaspora in the development of the country.
Ambassador Angel said this last week when he was named as one of the honourees at the 11th edition of African Achievers Awards held at the Kensington Palace London, United Kingdom.
The awards ceremony was themed ‘Mobilising Diaspora investments for Sustainable Development in Africa’.
“In the case of the Republic of Zimbabwe, the country has an estimated 2,5 to 3 million of its nationals in the diaspora. During the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic, Zimbabwe’s diaspora remittances increased by 58 percent in 2020, reaching a record 1 billion in United States dollars. This phenomenon was reached following an increase in the use of formal delivery channels which were widely used in transferring money from the diaspora due to travel restrictions under Covid-19.
“This positive development can be attributed to the visionary and astute leadership of His Excellency the President Dr Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa whose Government has put in place a new progressive Diaspora Policy which has seen diaspora remittances in Zimbabwe rising to unprecedented levels than ever before,” said Ambassador Angel.
He, however, said remittances on their own will not result in development if the conditions for those sending and those receiving remittances are not conducive towards development.
“There is a general consensus that the diasporans not only have resources to invest, but more importantly, unique and specialist skills and abilities which can go a long way in developing the continent.
“The diaspora population has in many cases capacity to contribute towards national development, hence it is imperative that governments make deliberate and concerted efforts to bring together stakeholders to develop policy objectives that could facilitate diaspora mobilisation in a manner that is not only attractive, but sustainable,” said Prophet Angel.
Online Reporter