|
Back to Index
The potential contribution of the Zimbabwean diaspora to economic
recovery - Working Paper 11
UNDP
May 11, 2010
Download
this document
- Acrobat
PDF version (272KB)
If you do not have the free Acrobat reader
on your computer, download it from the Adobe website by clicking
here.
Executive
summary
The political and economic
instability that characterized Zimbabwe from 2000 onwards led to
large numbers of Zimbabweans leaving the country. Destinations have
varied from neighbouring Southern African countries to as far away
as New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, the USA and
other countries. Estimates currently put the population of Zimbabweans
living outside their homeland at between three and four million.
This means that a quarter of the Zimbabwean population is in the
diaspora.
This out-migration
has had a negative impact on the country's human capital base and
in particular national training institutions. Since independence,
Zimbabweans had benefited from high standards of education and receiving
countries have been quick to seize upon the opportunity to make
use of the skills Zimbabweans have acquired. Medical doctors, nurses,
teachers, engineers, as well as large numbers of semi-skilled and
unskilled workers are now plying their trade in the diaspora. Despite
the ongoing outmigration trend which has continued despite the formation
of the Government of National Unity in February 2009, it is widely
acknowledged that once the political and economic climate in Zimbabwe
normalizes, this skills base that is currently in the diaspora could
play a key role in helping to rebuild the country.
The objective
of this working paper is to assess the developmental potential of
the Zimbabwe Diaspora. The paper examines the nature, size and key
features of the Zimbabwe Diaspora. It provides an account of post-independence
historical migration, the various driving forces behind migration,
remittance behaviour, government policy regarding the diaspora and
institutional arrangements that need to be put in place to tap its
developmental potential. The paper also discusses various diaspora
strategies adopted by governments, ranging from remittance-maximization
strategies to business-oriented strategies, and those that have
been successfully employed by other countries to leverage the development
potential of their diaspora. Based on past experiences and the particular
circumstances of Zimbabwe, various policy strategies for enhancing
the development potential of the diaspora are recommended. These
fall under six broad areas, viz:
(1) confidence
building measures;
(2) adoption
and implementation of a migration and development policy framework;
(3) measures
to leverage remittance flows for development;
(4) measures
to attract back skills;
(5) measures
for engagement with the diaspora; and
(6) engagement
with bilateral and multilateral organizations.
One key observation contained
in this paper is that while diaspora remittances will continue to
play a major role in the short term, especially in supporting households
and alleviating poverty, longer-term recovery in Zimbabwe will depend
more on the return of human capital and skills in both the public
and private sectors. The continued developmental role of the diaspora
(those who do not return) during recovery and post-recovery might
lie in fostering investment, business networks and facilitating
brain circulation. This in turn will depend on improving governance
indicators and Government restoring the political rights of the
diaspora and rebuilding their trust in national institutions.
Download
full document
Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.
TOP
|
