Call to develop trust with diaspora to curb abuse of remittances
By Caleb Chikwawawa
Youth Empowerment, Development and Vocational Training minister Kudakwashe Mupamhanga says local Zimbabweans should build trust with their compatriots abroad so as to curb common cases of misuse of remittances sent back home.
Mupamhanga was speaking last Friday at the Zimbabwean Achievers Awards (ZAA) Investment and Development Forum where he also called on those sending remittances to be incentivised as a form of encouragement.
The event was hosted by the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services in conjunction with the Zimbabwe Investment Development Forum.
“We need to build trust between ourselves here at home and our diaspora,” Mupamhanga said.
“I’m sure some of you here have heard rumours of people who send remittances back home to build houses and they are shown images of the house next door as progress. So, we need structures and institutions that allow diasporas to send their money safely.
“We need to be able to trust the systems that are in place.
“We also need to incentivise. We need to know who is sending the money and how much money they are sending and then somehow incentivise.
“It could be social credits, it could be a fast track line in the airport or anything that encourages the diaspora to get more involved with their country.”
United Kingdom (UK), contributes tremendously to the Zimbabwe’s GDP as revelations say that about 1 billion is sent annually from the UK to Zimbabwe via Mukuru, a great British-Zimbabwean company.
Also giving remarks at the forum, British Ambassador to Zimbabwe Peter Vowles said that Zimbabweans around the world contribute about 10% to the country’s GDP through remittances, with funds sent from Britain amounting to about US$1 billion annually.
“Every year, Zimbabweans around the world send hard earned pounds and dollars back home.
“Whether it’s 2.1, whether it’s 3.5, whether it’s 3 billion. Roughly 10% of Zimbabwe’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
“Remarkably, about a third of that money, about a billion dollars a year comes from the UK to Zimbabwe through another great British-Zimbabwean company Mukuru.
“These pounds support families and friends with education and health care but they also invest in construction, businesses and training,” said Vowles.
