ZIMBABWE: Expatriates an untapped development resource, IOM

[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

JOHANNESBURG, 23 Mar 2005 (IRIN) - Zimbabwean expatriates living in the United Kingdom (UK) and South Africa are an untapped development resource, says a study by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).

The organisation conducted a survey of 1,000 Zimbabwean expatriates in South Africa and the UK last year and found that, apart from economic remittances to Zimbabwe, "nearly three-quarters (73 percent) of respondents wanted to participate in a skills transfer programme and ... 77 percent wanted to contribute to the development of Zimbabwe".

IOM explained that the research "was not part of a wider programme ... or developed to evaluate policy", but rather to gather data that would inform a range of policy-makers and organisations.

The survey aimed to obtain a profile of Zimbabweans in the UK and South Africa, determined by their skills base, transnational links and interest in contributing to development in their home country.

"In terms of immigration status, 13 percent [of respondents] were naturalised EU [European Union] or South African citizens, 15 percent were permanent residents or had indefinite leave to remain, 20 percent were on working visas, 12 percent were on student visas, seven percent had refugee status or a form of humanitarian protection, 12 percent were asylum seekers and 19 percent were undocumented migrants," the report noted.

Thirty-two percent of the South African survey sample were undocumented migrants, compared to six percent in the UK. Zimbabweans living in South Africa also visited Zimbabwe on a fairly regular basis, "with 55 percent returning for a visit ... every six months or more".

The main reason for emigrating was the economic and political crisis in Zimbabwe, and the consequent high rate of unemployment.

"Forty-eight percent said they left Zimbabwe due to the economic situation, the lack of employment ... and around a quarter (26 percent) said that their main reason for leaving was political," the report said.

The majority (82 percent) had arrived in the UK or South Africa with a qualification, of which 38 percent held a bachelor's degree or higher, 19 percent had a diploma in higher education and three percent had a professional qualification.

However, many in the UK and South Africa have had to take employment not commensurate with their skills or experience, and "an area of great concern is the effect on the skills base of this very highly skilled diaspora population of not being able to use their skills and qualifications" in their new country of residence.

This meant that "in future years, some Zimbabweans returning from the diaspora will return with a lower skills base than when they left".

"Given that many Zimbabweans in the diaspora are key workers in the education and healthcare professions, their emigration, and the evidence of deskilling, creates clear and obvious concerns for the longer-term future of Zimbabwe".

LINKS WITH HOME

The study found that "nearly everyone maintained regular social contact with family members in Zimbabwe (96 percent)" and that "there were also strong economic ties with family".

"Around three-quarters of respondents (74 percent) sent economic remittances [to Zimbabwe] and of those that sent these remittances, 85 percent said the main reason was to support family members."

Money was also more likely to be remitted by "the informal routes of family, friends and personal visits to Zimbabwe than through formal financial institutions", the survey found.

Clothes (85 percent) and food (43 percent) also ranked high as non-monetary gifts sent home by expatriates.

Eighteen percent of respondents said they remitted on average US $565 per month from the UK and South Africa. Another 18 percent said they sent between $377 and $563.

Thirty-seven percent were sending between $188 and $375 a month, while 27 percent remitted less than $188.

Because these remittances were being transferred informally or via independent money brokers, rather than financial institutions, "they do not become part of the balance of payments and foreign exchange reserves" of Zimbabwe.

When respondents were asked what changes would help them to contribute, or contribute more effectively, to development in Zimbabwe, they "mentioned most often ... factors that related directly to Zimbabwe - political changes (60 percent), economic opportunities (50 percent), and voting rights (49) percent," the researchers noted.

"The data suggests that if the economic and/or political situation changed in Zimbabwe, the skilled communities outside of Zimbabwe would be likely to return and participate in the development of Zimbabwe from inside the country."

It was clear from the survey that there was "a commitment among Zimbabweans in the diaspora to return to Zimbabwe, and a great deal of interest in participating in development".

"Certainly the data from the survey highlights that the diaspora could be a resource for Zimbabwe in the short term, if certain changes took place to facilitate this," the report concluded.

For the full report got to: www.iomlondon.org

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