Mutambara in USA to Launch Zimbabwe Diaspora Initiative
Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara is in the United State capital Washington DC to launch the Zimbabwe diaspora home-front interface initiative, a platform to exchange information and promote collaborative investing among the Zimbabwean diaspora, the government and non-state actors back home.
It is estimated that there are at least two million Zimbabweans in the diaspora and many professionals, including engineers and doctors, have formed groups since the formation of the coalition government in 2009 to help rebuild the country’s economy and contribute to the nation’s economy across political affiliations.
Chairman of the Diaspora Networking Group, Dr. Norbert Mugwagwa, told VOA Studio 7 that the program that will be launched Saturday at the Zimbabwe Embassy in Washington DC aims at developing a skills database of Zimbabweans abroad that can be accessed by employers, investors, and others back in the country.
“This program is a follow up to a meeting which was here in Washington in July with Deputy Prime Minister Mutambara where he challenged Zimbabweans in the diaspora to come together in the spirit of promoting convergence and disseminating ideas which promote economic growth and development.”
Expatriate Zimbabweans in 2010 launched the Development Foundation of Zimbabwe in South Africa, aimed at boosting the nation’s economy through harmanozing and strengthening diaspora networks.
Graca Machel, wife of former South African President Nelson Mandela, who officially launched the initiative, challenged Zimbabweans in the diaspora to help their country regain its place as a regional economic power.
