Online Reporter
Thupeyo Muleya, [email protected]
GOVERNMENT has intensified efforts to transform Zimbabweans returning from South Africa into a strategic skills pool for national development, with all returnees set to undergo skills profiling to identify expertise acquired abroad for integration into the country’s economic transformation agenda.
The initiative, spearheaded by the Ministry of Skills Audit and Development, seeks to ensure that returning citizens are not merely received at the border but are linked to skills assessment, upskilling programmes and employment or entrepreneurship opportunities under the Zimbabwe Global Skills Partnership Programme (ZGSPP).
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Skills Audit and Development, Ambassador Rudo Chitiga, said this during a tour of the Repatriates Reception Centre at Beitbridge Border Post on Monday.
She said Government views every returning Zimbabwean as a valuable human capital resource capable of contributing to the attainment of Vision 2030.
“Every Zimbabwean returning home brings skills, experience and potential that can help build the nation. Our role as Government is to ensure they are welcomed with respect and given pathways to reintegrate meaningfully,” said Amb Chitiga.
She said the ministry was implementing a comprehensive skills audit for returnees to profile their qualifications, technical competencies, trades and work experience acquired in South Africa and other countries.
The exercise, Amb Chitiga said, will help Government identify areas where returnees can be deployed, supported through further training or linked to economic opportunities under the ZGSPP.
“Our approach is anchored on recognising returnees not as a burden, but as people with valuable skills and immense potential to contribute to national development,” she said.
During the tour, officials at the reception centre briefed Amb Chitiga on the processing of returnees, including registration, documentation, health screening, temporary accommodation, provision of meals and arrangements for onward transport to their respective destinations.
She said Government was strengthening systems at the reception centre to ensure that no returning citizen was left behind during the reintegration process.
The Beitbridge Repatriates Reception Centre has become a key facility as Government scales up measures to support Zimbabweans returning from South Africa following recent developments in that country.
In a statement, the Ministry of Skills Audit and Development said the visit was part of broader efforts to ensure that the repatriation process remains orderly while enabling returnees to access support services, skills assessment and sustainable economic opportunities immediately upon arrival.
Amb Chitiga was received by officials from the departments of social welfare, immigration and health, among other stakeholders managing operations at the centre, before touring the reception, screening and documentation sections.
The skills audit initiative dovetails with President Mnangagwa’s vision of leveraging the expertise of Zimbabweans at home and abroad to accelerate industrialisation and economic growth.
The President has consistently said Zimbabweans in the Diaspora remain an integral part of the country’s development and that those returning home should be embraced as partners in nation-building rather than viewed as a social burden.
He has also repeatedly urged Government institutions to create policies that facilitate the transfer of knowledge, technology and professional expertise from returning citizens into key productive sectors, saying human capital is one of Zimbabwe’s greatest assets in the drive towards attaining an upper middle-income economy by 2030.
The latest initiative comes as Government continues implementing measures to strengthen the reintegration of returning Zimbabweans through coordinated support services, skills development and economic empowerment programmes aimed at ensuring they make meaningful contributions to national development.
