Zambia Diaspora Connect Report On The National Indaba

REPORT ON THE NATIONAL INDABA 4TH - 5TH APRIL 2009. Prepared by Chasaya Sichilima and Paul Lupunga ZAMBIA DIASPORA CONNECT-FACILITATING DIASPORA DIALOGUE WITH HOME

Website: www.zambiaconnect.org Blog: http://diasporaconnect.blogspot.com/ Email:[email protected]

2009

2009

FACILITATING DIASPORA DIALOGUE WITH HOME

1. Introduction

1.1 Structure This paper will focus on reporting the participation of Zambia Diaspora Connect at the National Indaba 2009. The paper will begin by giving a background to the meeting and then sharing the events of the conference followed by a brief on issues and actions beyond the conference, with particular reference to the Zambia Diaspora Connect‟s engagements in Zambia. The delegation included Mr. Chasaya Sichilima from Canada, Mr. Paul Lupunga from Australia, Mr. Kazhila Chinsembu from Nambia, Mrs. Ing‟utu Palmer from England and Mr. Simon Sakala from Japan. 1.2 Background A National Indaba (National Consultative Forum), whose theme was “Global Economic Crisis, a wake-up call for Zambia’s economic transformation” was held from 4th to 5th April, 2009 at the Mulungushi International Conference Centre (MICC) in Lusaka. In line with the theme, the overall objective of the Indaba was to bring together policy makers, development agencies, public and private sector organisations, academia, Zambians in diaspora, and other relevant stakeholders in order to enhance common understanding of the issues at stake related to the global economic crisis and to find immediate solutions to the impact of the crisis. The two-day Indaba brought together over 500 participants from within and outside Zambia. Key note speakers included representatives from the Government of Zambia, the World Bank, Africa Development Bank, Zambians in diaspora, Malaysia, Mauritius, and the private sector. Key presentations were delivered on the first day of the Indaba. The second day mainly focussed on group discussions, which where preceded by short presentations on how the crisis was impacting on key sectors of the economy namely mining, tourism, agriculture, finance, energy, manufacturing and infrastructure. At the end of the morning group deliberations, the Indaba held an afternoon plenary that made recommendations to Government outlining short and long-term measures that the Government should consider to implement as a way forward in mitigating the negative impact of the global economic meltdown on the Zambian economy. The summary of the communiqué outlining the meetings resolutions is to be drawn up, handed to government and shared to the public once finalised by the meetings organisers. 2.0 Day One Deliberations 2.1 Key note speeches In opening the Indaba His Excellency President Rupiah Banda‟s keynote address to the delegates called for a change of mind set and attitude among citizens to achieve positive results. The President explained that mindset change was critical for government to deliver jobs, opportunities and a decent life for Zambians. He said the indaba was expected to identify

2009

FACILITATING DIASPORA DIALOGUE WITH HOME immediate policy interventions and explore opportunities that can be created in order to mitigate the impacts of the global economic crisis as well as to act as a policy reference source for feeding into the management of Zambia‟s economy, going forward. The World Bank Vice President for the Africa Region, Obiageli Ezekwesili, in her presentation emphasized that diversification was crucial now more than ever, to provide insurance against the boom and bust cycles associated with commodities like copper. She asked that the delegates direct their deliberations at considering the question “if the blood that runs the Zambian economy has always been copper, how easy is it to imagine Zambia without copper?” Ms Ezekwesili impressed upon the need for the right policies in order to accelerate growth. She mentioned the huge impact of the diaspora in the development of countries such as Ghana, Kenya and Ethiopia. Finance and National Planning Minister Situmbeko Musokotwane said Zambia had become vulnerable to the current economic crisis because of her high dependence on a single export commodity. He however said government had taken measures to overcome the challenges by allocating funds in the 2009 budget for diversifying the economy by stepping up development in tourism, agriculture and manufacturing sectors. Dr. Jebamalai Vinanchiarachi the Principal Advisor to the UNIDO Director General presented the three options of emerging economies and South – South cooperation, policies for knowledge services and geographical expansion of commodity belts through agro industrial value addition. In so doing he spelt out the role the diaspora and universities in several countries had played towards growth in the financial sector, as well as growth of investments in other areas. He emphasised that Zambia would do well to emulate these. The vote of thanks for the keynote session of the meeting was delivered by Ms. Mizinga Melu, the Standard Chartered Bank Managing Director. Her emphasis was that although there was a great wealth of knowledge that had been presented from which Zambia could learn, the Zambian stake holders were looking to address the impact of the Global Financial crisis on their institutions, and the nation as whole. This required that the Indaba translates the presentations and deliberations into pragmatic projects and programs of actions. Ms Melu emphasized that the three keywords to define the Indaba‟s outcomes should be “implementation, implementation and implementation”. 2.2 Other Country Experiences: Hon. Mustafa Haidi Mkulo, MP, Tanzania‟s Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs, outlined the adverse global impact and the local impact of the financial crisis on Tanzania. He went on to further outline the six priorities Tanzania was taking to mitigate the effects of the financial crisis as ensuring food security, ensure financial stability especially with regards to protecting from the effects on the productive sector, ensure continued medium term infrastructural development, revamping the cash crops markets, promoting domestic tourism and increasing productivity. A pertinent point made was that the problem of the crisis being international in nature, it was important that it is addressed both at local and at international levels and that the causers of the problem being the developed world demonstrate enlightened

2009

FACILITATING DIASPORA DIALOGUE WITH HOME dialogue with the most vulnerable developing countries who are caught in the quagmire developed countries have caused. Mr. Dev Chamroo, Director of Policy and Planning at the Board of Investment of Mauritius give a case study of how his country moved from a mono-economy based on sugar to become one of Africa‟s strong economies. It ranks at the top in Africa, judging by GDP per capita at over $12,000 (PPP, 2005), with average growth rate 4.2% over 1977-2006 whereas the average was 0.7% in Africa over the same period. He said the government introduced policies that resulted in economic growth from industries such as ICT, tourism and textiles. They entered into agreements with countries like France for their nationals to work in corporations for specific periods and transfer knowledge and earnings back home. Legislation was also developed to this end contributing to clustering infrastructural development in related industries. Mr. Jegathesan Jegasothydato from Malaysia shared experiences about how Malaysia diversified from tin mining to the multi-product exporter and economic powerhouse it is today. He shared how his country in 1970 was in the same situation as Zambia in terms of economic backwardness which included significantly high unemployment and poverty levels, yet within ten years it was transformed from raw material production for export, to leading manufacturing nation for export. Mr. Jegasothydato stated that for them to succeed they embarked on changing the mindset of politicians, civil servants and private sector, so that individuals began to think in response to the question “What is my role in job and wealth creation?” The last presentation for the day was by Zambia Diaspora Connect, made by Mr. Chasaya Sichilima. (See 3.0) 2.0 Day Two Deliberations Day Two had plenary sessions in working groups under agriculture, banking, tourism, mining, energy, finance, infrastructure development and manufacturing. These working groups proposed short, medium and long-term solutions to the global crisis, with diversification being a major theme. Arising from these discussions, paper presentations were made by the sectoral leads that gave contexts to the sectoral effects of the crisis. The diaspora contingent split into groups of interest to give a diaspora perspective to the discussions. Recommendations from the Indaba were overwhelming in acknowledging the importance of the diaspora in Zambia‟s development. Closing the Indaba, the Vice-President George Kunda said the government will take steps to formalise how it engages its diaspora.

2009

FACILITATING DIASPORA DIALOGUE WITH HOME 3.0 Diaspora focus 3.1 Presentation: The invitation by government to the diaspora to participate in the Indaba was in Zambia Diaspora Connect‟s view indicative of the government‟s seriousness and deliberateness in engaging the diaspora in the country‟s affairs. Zambia Diaspora Connect‟s presentation entitled “Zambia‟s Diaspora and Development” was made by Zambia Diaspora Connect Business and Government Liaison Officer, Mr. Chasaya Sichilima. Mr. Sichilima gave international context to diaspora value and benefits to home countries such as workers rise in real wages, increased remittances, investor capital, technological transfer, human capital and the development of trade net works. He then explained how mishandling such transfers could lead to economic dead weight losses through foregone tax revenue, skill short falls and reduced productivity. This position was supported by Carrington & Detragiache, (1998) whose research found that „One third of individuals with tertiary education from Africa, the Caribbean, and Central America migrated to the US or OECD countries‟. He cited countries such as China, India, Ghana, South Africa, Nigeria and Ethiopia with details on how they have utilised the diaspora. He then moved on to explore the Zambian situation. He noted that according the World Bank (2005) there were approximately 150, 281 Zambians contributing to the workforces of their countries of settlement. This was a significant population whose various capital transfers could significantly contribute to a positive impact on Zambia‟s economy if appropriately harnessed. In setting the stage for diaspora advocacy efforts and involvement in the country‟s development Mr. Sichilima highlighted the biggest challenge to the diaspora reportedly being that Zambia does not recognise dual citizenship. During the Mungomba Commissions Constitutional Review, a petition to grant dual citizenship to Zambians that started in the UK was submitted in 2003. Another petition started in Australia in 2008 within a short period of time had global representation submitted to National Constitutional Conference for reviewing the constitution. The meeting was informed that these efforts amongst many other drives for dual citizenship were yet to yield fruit and consequently the waiting process to ascertain whether Zambia would enact a dual citizenship amendment to the constitution or not, presented cause for some in the diaspora to be reluctant in investing, technology transfer, settling and remitting funds because of the insecurity from their status. Pertinent to the outcome of the constitutional review lay the question of what happens to Zambia‟s diaspora while waiting for the NCC‟s final decision? This recognition of the need to start confronting other issues concerning diaspora engagement with the motherland, led to the first Zambia Diaspora e-Conference in 2008 by Zambia Diaspora Connect. Mr. Sichilima reported that the participants from the 2008 e-Conference identified constraints behind diaspora hesitation to invest their human and financial capital. These included diaspora being viewed with an evil eye by some in public office, lack of collective self organization and the pending outcome of the dual nationality question in the constitution.

2009

FACILITATING DIASPORA DIALOGUE WITH HOME As regards, diaspora/national opportunities and challenges in view of the Global Economic Crisis, the presentation‟s recommendations included the need to: 1. Expedite the ongoing passport renewal process and the dual citizenship amendment of the Constitution; 2. Consider introduction of bonds to be marketed to the diaspora by Bank of Zambia, and private-public partnership bonds on the LuSE; 3. Reduce costs of consular services by out-sourcing diaspora administrative issues to Zambia-Foreign country associations; 4. Develop a Diaspora Act to outline government engagement on diaspora initiatives; 5. Create an avenue for diaspora contributions to national policy formulation; 6. Facilitate diaspora investment in the tourism sector. 3.2 Diaspora Presentation Reactions After the presentation, there was a plenary session in which: Mr. Max Sichula asked if Zambia Diaspora Connect knew about ZINITZ, an investment fund formed by Zambians in UK and asked if the Zambia Diaspora Connect could explore the merging of their efforts with this fund. Mr. Sichilima responded that he knew about the Fund and the people behind it were credible individuals. He mentioned also that there were other investment funds as well apart from ZINITZ such as the ZFIF. He acknowledged that although there was strength in numbers there was also need for organizations to remain true to their objectives, reduce risk and allow for competitiveness if a significant contribution to development is to be made by the diaspora. Mrs. Mwangala Zalomuis, the NCC Chair, asked Mr. Sichilima on why the diaspora felt the need for dual nationality to be incorporated in the new constitution. In response Mr. Sichilima said some jobs in the country of residence of diaspora Zambians required that one had nationality of the country, particularly civil service jobs, high profile private and public sector jobs, as well as some banking and most security jobs, amongst others. This category of jobs, are usually higher wage earners than the casual blue-collar jobs that are more readily available to foreign migrants. The importance of this to Zambia is that her diaspora, when presented with the option of higher earning employment, will take up a new nationality, which according to Zambian Law implies opting out of Zambian nationality, significantly affecting the levels of remittances and investments Zambians would make if they were still considered to be nationals. In addition some jobs require constant travel globally and since the Zambian passport requires visas for most countries it becomes cumbersome for employers to keep making requests for visas for such Zambian employees. Later on after the meeting, Mrs. Zaloumis informed the delegation that the intention of the question was to ensure given the platform of the Indaba the case was made and informed ministers and other politicians, civil society, business leaders, chiefs, as well as the Zambian people of the benefits as their support and understanding are needed to advance this cause. Dr Buleti Nsemukila, permanent secretary in the Ministy of Education posed a question on whether Zambia Diaspora Connect knew that the Ministry of Science, Technology and Vocational Training had a program for the diaspora where it would pay for diaspora

2009

FACILITATING DIASPORA DIALOGUE WITH HOME Zambians to provide technical assistance on various Zambian projects. In response it was acknowledged that this was an excellent opportunity matching ZDC‟s objectives of promoting Human Capital transfers from the diaspora, which the organization will explore and follow up. After the presentation, the President Rupiah Banda told the delegation that he was enthused by the presentation and pledged to ensure that the government works towards formalizing how it engages Zambia‟s diaspora, to facilitate their taking part in the country‟s development. Delegates to the Indaba received a copy of the 2008 e-Conference Report.

4.0 Beyond Indaba 4.1 Post Indaba Awareness: After the indaba, ZDC appeared in the electronic and printed media to advance the cause of the diaspora with regards to dual citizenship, passport renewals and the benefits these would contribute to national development. Mr. Sichilima also visited the Ndola City Council and presented copies of the 2008 e-conference to the Town Clerk Ms Charity Mpande so as to give local authorities an idea of diaspora concerns and interests. These efforts were part of a strategy to broaden levels of engagement and also counter the negative perceptions that have long taken hold in our country about its diaspora. In our view, the participation at the Indaba was just an initial step. Zambians living abroad have to continue with efforts to ensure Zambia‟s diaspora is recognised as the 10th province of Zambia. 4.2 Gains from Participating: There were three main gains from participating this being: i. Networking and establishing contacts with Zambian organizations whose development agenda was similar to our own. ii. The opportunity to commence discussions on the development of Memoranda of Understanding between ZDC and several government institutions, members of civil society and private sector organizations with respect to cooperating in fulfilling the ZDC recommendations to the Indaba. iii. Having had day one deliberations broadcast nationally, it is these authors‟ opinion that participation contributed to raising national awareness of diaspora issues. It is hoped that this level of raised awareness will contribute significantly to a range of positive outcomes including the NCC‟s deliberations on the proposed clause for dual citizenship in the short term, to changing national attitudes towards the diaspora in the long term.

2009

FACILITATING DIASPORA DIALOGUE WITH HOME 4.3 Way Forward Firstly, in reflecting on the Indaba‟s theme to resolve and mitigate the impact of the Global Economic/ Development crisis, Zambia Diaspora Connect is grateful that it was amongst those government invited for the meeting. The opportunity to contribute to policy decisions in the quest for our country to diversify is one we undertook with the seriousness it deserved. Secondly, it is acknowledged that while the diaspora would want to get involved in the country‟s development, there is no formalised structure on how this can be done. Many would like to but do not know how. Some individuals have taken intiative to engage in various ventures at home. However, there is need for organisation so that maximum returns can be obtained from existing efforts and new ventures. To this end, Zambia Diaspora Connect is encouraged by the President and government‟s resolve to formalize diaspora engagement. Thirdly, ZDC would like to take this opportunity to advise government ways in which such a meeting could be improved upon should need to hold another Indaba arise. 1. Notice of Dates: Dates were switched several times making it difficult to plan attendance. 2. Circulation of papers for deliberation: This could have been done in advance to allow for research into possible means of improving suggested economic proposals. Of note was the delay in issuing the Aide Memoir to invited delegates. 3. Meetings structural organisation: a. Sequencing which sectors would have higher priorities than others first; then b. Discussing infrastructure that would cluster/support sectoral priorities: then c. Discussing on how to finance the agreed/proposed sectoral/infrastructural developments. d. Possible targeting of the organization of such a meeting to prior the national budget presentation so that it complements national budget priorities and avoids variations and deficits. Lastly, we would like to acknowledge that the Indaba served as a very useful spring board to raise levels of diaspora concerns, not just to government, but also to civil society, media houses, NCC members and other groups too numerous to categorise as delegates were drawn from all walks of life.