Online Reporter
Trust Freddy
Zimpapers Correspondent
ZIMBABWE has become the first country in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to launch a National Migration Data Strategy (NMDS), establishing a new benchmark for evidence-based policy and digital integration in the region.
The strategy, which runs from 2025 to 2030, was launched in Harare on Friday last week.
It provides a comprehensive framework for the collection, analysis and dissemination of migration statistics, ensuring that the movement of people across borders, in the diaspora, is leveraged for national development.
In his keynote address, the acting Permanent Secretary for Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage, Colonel (Retd) Onward Tokoda, said the strategy was a clear declaration of the Government’s commitment to sophisticated, data-driven responses to modern migration challenges.
“For Zimbabwe to fully harness the migration dividend, we must move beyond anecdotal observations and transition towards a framework defined by precise, real-time and verifiable information,” he said.
“This strategy serves as a comprehensive roadmap for the collection, analysis, and dissemination of migration statistics across our borders. By harmonising how we track and interpret movement, we strengthen national security through more efficient border management while simultaneously aiding our economic planners in accounting for the vast contributions of the Zimbabwean diaspora.”
He said the NMDS would strengthen national security through efficient border management while aiding economic planners in accounting for the vast contributions of the Zimbabwean diaspora.
The strategy is aligned with the National Development Strategy (NDS2), Vision 2030, and the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
He also urged all departments to dismantle “traditional silos of information” and embrace digital integration to ensure the success of the initiative.
In a speech read on her behalf by the Director of Demography and Social Statistics, Mr Aluwisio Mukavhi, the Zimstat Director General, Mrs Tafadzwa Bandama, described the launch as a historic milestone that addresses the long-standing challenge of fragmented data and inconsistent reporting.
“Our vision is clear: to establish a robust, evidence-based migration governance system that delivers timely, reliable, accurate and accessible data,” she said.
“This strategy will empower policymakers, researchers and stakeholders with the information they need to make smart, forward-looking decisions.”
Mrs Bandama said the NMDS was anchored on four strategic objectives: improving data collection, harmonising analysis, enhancing stakeholder collaboration and maximising data utilisation.
She added that the strategy was inclusive, focusing on sex-disaggregated data to ensure vulnerable groups, including women and youth, are not “lost in the margins of statistics.”
The Department of Immigration’s Director of Operations, Mrs Leslie Chakauya, said the strategy would have a direct positive impact on the lives of ordinary citizens.
“We are going to be having evidence-based policies and decisions. We are going to get information about the environment, social services and diaspora remittances. When we have enough evidence of how much is being remitted, it is for the benefit of the ordinary Zimbabwean,” she said.
International Organisation for Migration (IOM) Chief of Mission, Ms Diana Cartier, confirmed that Zimbabwe is the first in the region to take this step.
“This milestone is especially meaningful as it comes in the year IOM marks its 75th anniversary. The NMDS connects national priorities with global commitments and positions Zimbabwe as a leader in evidence-based migration governance in the region,” Ms Cartier said.
Ms Miranda Tabifor, UNFPA Country representative, said: “This strategy serves as a critical mechanism for accelerating the SDGs and operationalizing the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF).
“The NMDS directly services SDG 8 on decent work, SDG 10 on reducing inequalities and specifically targets 10.7 for orderly, safe, and responsible migration.
“By strengthening national data systems, it fulfills the core promise of SDG 17 on global partnerships and data accountability.”
