derick.khumalo
Thupeyo Muleya, Beitbridge Bureau
THE Government has launched a comprehensive skills audit and registration exercise for Zimbabweans returning from South Africa as part of efforts to harness their expertise for national development and strengthen reintegration programmes.
The exercise, being coordinated by the Ministry of Skills Audit and Development (MOSAD), is underway at the Beitbridge Reception and Support Centre, where returning citizens are being processed daily.
Permanent Secretary Ambassador Rudo Chitiga recently toured the facility to assess operations, while the ministry says more than 15 000 returnees have already been registered under the Zimbabwe Global Skills Partnership Programme (ZGSPP).
Speaking during a tour of the centre by the Minister of Local Government and Public Works, Hon Daniel Garwe, and a United Nations delegation led by UN Resident Coordinator Dr Rosemary Kalapurakal, Deputy Director for Skills Gap Ms Lesley Chakundura said the exercise was designed to identify and document the skills of returning Zimbabweans to inform policy and support their reintegration into the economy.
“The idea is to capture their skills and use the data to guide policy formulation. We also want to integrate them into the national human capital and economic development agenda,” said Ms Chakundura.
The registration exercise comes as Zimbabwe continues to receive thousands of returning nationals from South Africa following recent unrest linked to xenophobic attacks, with more than 100 000 citizens understood to have returned.
Ms Chakundura said the 15 000 people captured in the database include both self-repatriated Zimbabweans and those assisted by Government.
She said women make up the majority of those processed through the Beitbridge Reception and Support Centre, largely because many are accompanying spouses.
According to the ministry, most male returnees fall within the semi-skilled and skilled categories, including bricklayers, mechanics, welders, farm workers and general hand workers. Women have predominantly registered skills in domestic work, hairdressing, catering, vending and cross-border trading.
Ms Chakundura said men account for 60,3 percent of those registered so far, with the exercise continuing both at the reception centre and at the border.
She said one of the major challenges identified is the lack of formal certification for many returnees who acquired valuable skills while working in South Africa but were unable to obtain recognised qualifications because of their immigration status.
“There is a strong need for Government to help these people fit into the economy. Government should look into the issue of certification and recognition of prior learning for returnees with special skills,” she said.
To address the challenge, MOSAD has established a dedicated help desk at the reception centre and border post to assess, categorise and record the skills of returnees according to their needs.
The information collected will be used to link returnees with training opportunities, employment and livelihood programmes in their respective home districts.
Ms Chakundura said the skills database would also assist Government and development partners in planning reintegration programmes by identifying areas with shortages in specific trades and matching returnees with available opportunities.
Minister Garwe commended the ministry and its partners for the initiative, saying it would ensure the skills acquired by Zimbabweans abroad are fully utilised.
“I have noted the progress here. This skills audit is very important. It will help us to know who is coming back and what they can contribute to the economy,” he said.
He said Government remained committed to ensuring that no returnee is left behind and that the expertise brought home should be leveraged to support local industry, agriculture and infrastructure development.
Dr Kalapurakal welcomed the initiative, saying the United Nations supports the skills registration programme as it provides critical data to better target assistance and connect returnees with economic opportunities.
