Kazembe Kazembe stated that the Zimbabwe Civil Registry Department has not been able to fulfil well over 370,000 passport applications because of lack of foreign currency needed to secure necessary inputs. Kazembe Kazembe added that to meet demand, the Zanu-PF government has mandated that passport applicants in Diaspora should pay a US$318 passport application fee. In other words, Zimbabweans in Diaspora who apply for the Zimbabwean passport will be subsidizing the Civil Registry to meet the passport needs of people in Zimbabwe.
Zimbabweans left, and are still leaving the country because it is not doing well. Zimbabweans in Diaspora need the Zimbabwean passports to be able to travel to and from Zimbabwe. Zimbabweans in neighboring countries also need the passport to travel back and forth and for work permit purposes.
*Political Opportunism to Exploit Diasporas*
President Mugabe looked down on Zimbabwean Diasporas, seeing them as “…..only care givers cleaning bottoms of aged clients who should bring their own wheelchairs when they come back home as old people so that they do not bother us.” It is a wonder that now the Zimbabwe government that previously ignored and maligned those in diasporas is now increasingly seeing them as agents of development and is now pandering to diasporas as a foreign policy priority.
When Finance Minister Mthuli and RBZ Governor Mangundla come to Washington, DC they always invite Diasporas to talk about investing in Zimbabwe. Recently, ZANU-PF operatives were inviting Diasporas to meet in Texas about investments and other collaborations. During the 2019 budget presentation, Mthuli Ncube said the diaspora presents a significant opportunity for contributing to the development of the economy and noted that government was in the process of implementing policy to better harness this resource.
There are no precise records, but the remittances from Zimbabweans in Diaspora have kept Zimbabwe economy buoyant. Remittances of cash, food and goods comprise nearly 10 per cent of Zimbabwe’s GDP (The Financial Times August 12, 2019). A World Bank report says that Zimbabwe gets US$1.9 billion annually from its diaspora. It is also apparent that in Zimbabwe receipts of remittances from Diasporas have become an important and stable source of funds that exceeds receipts from exports of goods and services or from financial inflows on foreign direct investment.
There are reasons to be concerned that the ZANU-PF government would want the Diaspora to subsidize the passport issuance for citizen in Zimbabwe. We love our relatives and would like them to also travel or get out of the country to seek a livelihood for their families elsewhere.
*Diaspora and Zimbabwe Government Relationship*
The relationship between diasporas and Zimbabwe encompasses a variety of sentiments, including distrust, resentment, envy, and enmity. Many countries that include India, Chile, Ethiopia, the Philippines and Serbia have structures or institutions aimed at encouraging the participation of diaspora communities in technical, professional and investment activities to advance development efforts. Most countries also use their embassy and consulates to promote this. We all know the Zimbabwe Embassy in Washington, DC locks its gates and have never tried to engage with demonstrators when there are demonstrations at the embassy. Most diasporans left the country for political reasons and many to escape abduction, jail or beatings by ZANU-PF operatives. Therefore, it is very unlikely that Mthuli’s hope to harness the diaspora or institutionalize the relationships with diaspora for development purposes will ever materialize. A great percentage of the Diasporans are political activists who are sickened by the corrupt and inept ZANU-Pf leadership who have run the country into the ground. Therefore, the Diasporans cannot be expected to develop any economic links or development-oriented mandate with the corrupt government.
The government also does not accord diaspora any political importance because most of the diaspora belongs to the opposition political party, MDC, which the government is trying everything possible to annihilate.
*Diaspora Vote*
There is a total of 115 countries in the world that have provisions for their citizens in the foreign soil to vote. Zimbabwe is not one of them. While the Zimbabweans in diasporas send well recognized remittances to their home country their contribution to the direct democratic process – namely, elections – does not exist. Zimbabweans in Diaspora are denied their voting rights, a right guaranteed by the constitution and laws in force. The ZANU-PF government has disenfranchised millions of Zimbabweans living abroad, who are vehemently seeking to exercise their voting rights as part of their fundamental human rights. Their right to vote from wherever they reside should not be questioned. It is a right enshrined in the constitution. Countries like S. Africa, the USA, Namibia, and Chile give voting rigts to citizens living outside the country. Zimbabweans in the diaspora want to be involved in decisions on the country’s political process to ensure their rights are safeguarded. They want to be genuinely engaged stakeholders who promote democracy. Diasporans remittances are the biggest source of foreign currency exchange and contributing to national development and surely the Electoral Act can be amended to provide voting right opportunity to Zimbabweans living outside the country. It is a constitution right of every national to participate in the nation’s elections despite living outside its borders.
*CONCLUSION*
The Zimbabwe Governments can only realize the considerable development benefits of diaspora institutions if they have a national development policy that recognizes their diasporas as critical partners. How are Zimbabweans in Diaspora expected to subsidize the economy of their home country when they are denied the right to vote and when any remittances are pocketed by the junta? Why is US$1.9 in diaspora remittances not adequate to finance passport production?
Mthuli, Kazembe and ED also need to be reminded that the diaspora is ageing, many are obtaining citizenship of their host nations, have reunited with nuclear families and eventually there will be less money to remit to extended families in Zimbabwe. The remittances will dry up one day.
Give the diaspora their right to vote and right to associate with any political party. Respect the fundamental rights of all citizens and introduce rule of law and *maybe* we may start to engage. You can dictate the price of the passport, but that will not solve economic woes nor address issues of legitimacy. It still adds up to another instance of the robbery of citizens to prop up a failed regime.