16 April 2009
editorial
THE Diaspora, defined as peoples of African descent living outside the continent, has for some time been ignored as a partner in development of their respective countries.
But the contributions to the development of the continent of this group of people has long been recognised by international organisations such as the World Bank which has been calling for harnessing their resources to help develop social sectors such as health and education in Africa.
This is a group of people endowed with academic and financial wealth which could have been utilised to develop the continent.
Of particular mention is the contribution of remittances, that is money sent by the Diaspora to their families in countries of origin to help meet various social needs.
Kenya, for example, accounts for close to US$1 billion annually in remittances from Kenyans scattered around the globe, which money goes towards meeting educational and health needs of the senders' relatives.
Zambia has now recognised the importance of the Diaspora and the Government has taken deliberate steps to involve them in development programmes of the country.
At the recently-held national indaba called to brainstorm on the global economic crisis and how the country would respond to it, Zambians in the Diaspora were among participants who contributed effectively to the success of the gathering.
And as a follow-up, Zambians in the Diaspora have pledged to partner with the Government in development projects related to investment, human capital and property development.
Zambians in the Diaspora themselves have clearly-defined areas in which they want to partner with the Government such as land and housing as well as human capital.
It is important that we as a country explore how remittances from Zambians living abroad can contribute to the development of the country.
We could also learn from the Latin Americans where remittances from the Diaspora are leveraged to finance Diaspora-led projects, ranging from housing to social sectors like health and education.
We believe there is a wealth of not just skills, but money among Zambians abroad which could be pooled together to help develop the country both as long and short-term partners in development.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 The Times of Zambia. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
