Online Reporter
For years, the departure of skilled Zimbabweans to countries across the world was framed more as a national tragedy but President Mnangagwa has called for a re-imagination of this phenomenon as more of an opportunity.
Doctors left hospitals, engineers joined international firms, academics took up posts at foreign universities, while bankers, ICT specialists and other professionals built careers across the globe and the President says these specialists are a reservoir of knowledge, expertise, capital, technology and international networks that can be harnessed for national development.
Instead of describing the trend as “brain drain,” the President urges that the issue be rather viewed as “brain circulation,” a practical response to the realities of a globalised world.
Addressing Zimbabweans living in the United States at a Diaspora interface on Sunday night, the President said Zimbabweans abroad were excelling in leading hospitals, universities, financial institutions, technology companies and international organisations.
He said such people were tremendous national assets which the Second Republic was committed to harnessing for collective prosperity.
A Zimbabwean doctor working in New York does not have to abandon that career to make a contribution to Zimbabwe, but can train medical personnel back home, participate in research, provide specialist advice or establish partnerships between local and international institutions.
An engineer abroad can advise on infrastructure development while a professor can establish academic collaborations and an ICT specialist can mentor young innovators. A banker, on the other hand, can help Zimbabwean businesses access international finance and markets and the same can be said across sectors.
Zimbabweans abroad have already demonstrated their commitment to home through remittances with foreign-currency inflows, including remittances, now exceeding US$2.4 billion annually, providing critical support to families and communities.
What is required is a deliberate effort to ensure that the distance between Zimbabwe and its Diaspora does not become a barrier to the movement of knowledge and expertise, making the Diaspora a powerful partner in the country’s industrialisation and development agenda.
The sectors identified under the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS 2), including infrastructure, industrialisation and innovation, present opportunities for Zimbabweans abroad to bring home not only their savings, but also the expertise and international connections accumulated during their years overseas.
The Second Republic is playing its part to achieve this goal through reforms being undertaken to simplify bureaucracy, modernise passport services, establish Diaspora service centres and provide dedicated focal persons, among other initiatives.
Guided by President Mnangagwa’s philosophy, “Ilizwe lakhiwa ngabanikazi balo/Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo”, the Diaspora must also see itself not as an observer of developments at home but a stakeholder in the country’s future.
“Ask yourself,” the President implored the Diaspora, “what can I bring to Zimbabwe? What skill can I transfer? What investment can I make? What market can I open? What young Zimbabwean can I mentor?”
The President said if these questions were answered through concrete action, their cumulative effect on Zimbabwe would be far-reaching.
“Together, let us transform the Diaspora into a greater force for investment, innovation, skills transfer, industrialisation and national development.
“Zimbabwe is our home, heritage, shared responsibility, and its future is for us to build together.
“Only through collective efforts can we promote economic growth and enhance the welfare of all Zimbabweans. That burden lies with all of us, Nyika inovakwa nevene vavo/Ilizwe lakhiwa ngabanikazi balo.”
The country’s development cannot be left to Government alone neither can it be achieved by citizens at home while millions of Zimbabweans abroad remain disconnected from the country’s productive economy.
“Though you live and work beyond our borders, you remain an integral part of the Zimbabwean family. Home is home, regardless of the physical distance between us. Your patriotism and commitment to uphold our Zimbabwean identity is highly commendable… The more we work together, the more we prosper,” the President said.
This captures the essence of brain circulation, which does not demand that every Zimbabwean abroad return physically but that they remain economically, professionally and intellectually connected to home.
While Zimbabwe’s borders should define its territory, they must not define the limits of its ambitions and against this background, the Diaspora is not outside the national development story but part of it.
