FOR many among Zimbabwe’s sprawling diaspora, the desire to return home is a constant ache.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu African Leadership Institute/Tutu Fellows chief executive officer Kunyalala, Kunyalala Maphisa, a recent returnee, understands this deeply, but she also knows why so many others remain stranded abroad, unable to cross back despite their longing.
Maphisa said it was important to include diaspora communities when talking about the country’s human capital dividend.
“Many of them, including myself — though I am a recent returnee — want to return home,” she said.
“But the situation that they find themselves in may not be such that they are able to do so.
“So what do you need to put in place to allow them to actually do so?
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“If we can implement policies that encourage foreign direct investment, should we not also consider similar incentives for diaspora communities?”
Estimates of the Zimbabwean diaspora have been pegged at between three and over five million, roughly 30% of the country’s population.
While the 2022 Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency census reported roughly 900 000 residents abroad, this is considered a conservative figure due to undocumented migration.
South Africa hosts the largest share, with estimates ranging from 574 000 (2016 census) to over one million, followed by the United Kingdom (approximately 122 000-128 000), then Botswana, Australia, Canada and the United States.
Maphisa said she believed it was crucial to include diaspora communities when talking about the country’s human capital dividend.
“It is important to recognise that when we talk about the country’s human capital dividend, this must include the diaspora communities who remain very much a part of us,” she said.
“Again, these are communities that held the country together at the most difficult time and continue to do so through the remittances we speak of.
“It is important to consider policy imperatives that encourage them to participate more meaningfully.
“Those policy frameworks must take into account the fact that because of the circumstances that people find themselves in, they’ve had to set up bases, they had to set up mines in foreign countries in order to survive.”
She was one of the participants at the International Business Conference at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair on Wednesday.
She emphasised the need for internet connectivity and improved infrastructure.