Chronicle Editor
GOVERNMENT’S decision to mobilise Zimbabweans working in different countries across the globe to invest back home is paying dividends as evidenced by increased investments from diasporans. In 2022 Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister Ambassador Frederick Shava challenged Zimbabwean diplomats to mobilise Zimbabweans domiciled in their countries of assignment to invest back home.
Minister Shava said then that diplomats’ primary targets when scouting for investors should be Zimbabweans in the diaspora. He said Zimbabwe’s diaspora is a force to reckon with as evidenced by increased remittances back home every year.
Minister Shava said the diplomats’ task is to inform the Zimbabweans in their countries of assignment about the business opportunities back home and encourage them to invest.
During the same year, President Mnangagwa directed relevant ministries to set up a working committee on diaspora affairs in response to concerns raised by the diaspora community.
The committee was meant to redress deficiencies that had resulted in the vital diaspora community being left behind despite the fact that it is equipped with relevant skills that can aid in the development of the country.
President Mnangagwa said there were a lot of shortcomings regarding the affairs of the diaspora community which needed to be addressed hence his decision to set up a committee to deal with diaspora affairs.
The Zimbabweans in the diaspora have said they are ready to invest in various sectors of the economy. They have singled out agriculture, real estate, tourism, education and health among top opportunity windows which they say could benefit from skills they have acquired while working in the different countries.
We have said before that the diplomats should take advantage of this huge appetite of the diaspora community to invest back home. It is a fact that there is no substitute for home and Zimbabwe remains the only home for Zimbabweans hence the need for all Zimbabweans including the diasporans to contribute to the building of the Zimbabwe we all want.
We want at this juncture to commend diasporans for responding positively to calls for them to invest back home.
In Bulilima district in Matabeleland South for example, a group of Zimbabweans working in the diaspora joined hands with their counterparts back home to start a Boer goat breeding project. The group called Dynamic Investment which has 11 members, now has 1 200 Boer goats.
We look forward to more such groups of Zimbabweans pooling resources together to invest in such life-changing projects in their communities this year. Ilizwe lakhiwa ngabaninilo/ Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo.
Online Reporter