Time to tap into our rich human resource abroad

FOR long, Zimbabweans have been making the world their oyster.

They have travelled the world and beyond in search of both knowledge and opportunities.

And they have been able to distinguish themselves, thanks to the aggressive investment in education by the First Republic.

Today, Zimbabweans hold their own in corporate boardrooms and have often been entrusted with steering multinational companies and huge conglomerates.

In the world of mining, for example, mining engineer Ben Magara made a mark as the chief executive officer of Lonmin, the world’s third-largest platinum miner.

Early this year, he was appointed the CEO of Exxaro Resources, a business considered as one of South Africa’s largest and foremost black-empowered resources companies.

In the multi-billion-dollar world of telecommunications, MTN, which is the continent’s biggest mobile network operator and one of the largest in the world, has often trusted Zimbabwean executives.

The late Sifiso Dabengwa served as its CEO from 2011 to 2015.

Another Zimbabwean, Ralph Mupita, is presently the group president and CEO.

At the frontiers of modern technologies, not least artificial intelligence, is Google, the US$1,8 trillion company, which counts James Manyika as a senior vice president.

This list is inexhaustible and shows the sheer quality of the human resource that continues to be minted by our country.

Although Zimbabwe benefits immensely through diaspora remittances, there is so much more that our highly skilled human resource can contribute, particularly in terms of skill and knowledge transfer.

Skills, knowledge and the experience that are brought back home by returning nationals can be leveraged to promote innovation, improved practices and development in various sectors.

There is also scope to create international networks that open up new business opportunities, partnerships and markets for their home country, thus enhancing trade and investment prospects.

They can even play an advisory role to the private sector — if they are not doing so already — and the Government by contributing to policy design.

President Mnangagwa’s exhortation to students studying in Russia on Friday should, therefore, be viewed in this
light.

He told them: “You are the architects of Zimbabwe’s future. The knowledge you gain here, especially in science, technology and innovation, will fuel our nation’s growth.”

But we have to be deliberate in creating a structured platform for interaction with the diaspora to ease communication.

This way, we can harvest a wealth of intelligence and experiences that can help in local policy design and programming in Government.

However, we must also impress on them the duty they have to the motherland to contribute towards its success, in line with the President’s development philosophy that a country is built by its own people (Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo/Ilizwe lakhiwa ngabanikazi balo).

However, the need to harness the skills and expertise of the diaspora is not a new thing.

It has been stated and tried before, which means we must interrogate the reason it has not gained significant traction.

This is not rocket science and has been piloted before in other countries.

India, for example, has a large and influential diaspora, particularly in the United States and Europe.

To spur its developmental programmes, New Delhi has implemented various programmes to engage its diaspora, such as the Overseas Indian Facilitation Centre and the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) conference, in order to harness their skills, knowledge and investments.

Similarly, China has actively engaged its diaspora through initiatives like the Thousand Talents Programme, which aims to attract overseas Chinese scientists and entrepreneurs back to the Asian country.

Not surprisingly, the programme has significantly contributed to China’s advancements in technology and innovation.

In Europe, Ireland has the Global Irish Economic Forum, which brings together Irish expatriates to discuss ways to support the country’s economic development.

Suffice to say, the forum has helped Ireland tap into the expertise and networks of its global diaspora.

Further, Israel has a well-established system for engaging its diaspora, particularly in the US.

Programmes like Birthright Israel and Masa Israel Journey encourage young Jewish people to visit and connect with Israel, fostering a sense of belonging and encouraging contributions to the country’s development.

So, this initiative is not peculiar to Zimbabwe.

Though we might have a policy of engaging the diaspora, we need to ensure that we have mechanisms and platforms that produce results.

As President Mnangagwa has always said, the country needs to leapfrog its development in order to catch up, or even overtake, its peers, and to do so, it can easily tap into the knowledge and expertise of its sons and daughters who are scattered across the world.

It is time we make this happen.