ANGOLA-ZAMBIA: Desperately seeking skilled migrants

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

JOHANNESBURG, 6 Jul 2005 (IRIN) - A new study conducted in Angola and Zambia brings into sharp focus the negative impact of migration on the development of struggling countries, and proposes solutions to reversing the exodus of scarce skills to richer pastures.

'Migration and Development: New Strategic Outlooks and Practical Ways Forward - The Cases of Angola and Zambia', by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), noted that although they have very different histories, the two countries face similar challenges: stemming the brain drain and enticing skilled migrants to return.

IOM programme development officer Liselott Joensson, based in Pretoria, South Africa, explained that the study was undertaken because there was a shortage of data on the issue. "We have to look at the specific situation in each country; we need to look at the push and pull factors and see how 'sending' and 'receiving' countries can work together," she commented.

African governments were growing increasingly concerned about skills migration because, "apart from the fact that they are lacking human resources, they are obviously spending a lot of money on training doctors and nurses, for example, and they are losing their investment in these people".

Some countries were trying to put in place a code of conduct between sending countries and receiving countries, in a bid to gain more control "over how this recruitment should take place, being aware that you can never stop migration, but at least there will be certain guidelines".

However, there were serious policy gaps relating to skills migration.

"Though migration and return are prominent issues in policy documents, these seldom put forward economic productivity objectives. They rather focus on repatriation and reintegration of IDPs [internally displaced persons] and refugees, which is seen by the government as a fundamental step in the reconciliation and reconstruction process of the country," the report noted.

Measures for preventing skills migration were rarely given the attention they deserved, "despite the fact that it is widely acknowledged that social and economic development can only be achieved if adequately trained and qualified human resources are available in the country and in critical sectors".

Joensson noted that there appeared to be a "trend of people returning" to Angola, although this was difficult to gauge accurately due to a lack of data.

According to the study, "Evidence from interviews in the field ... suggests that many skilled and qualified Angolan migrants are reluctant to go back. A cautious attitude prevails, as potential return migrants prefer to wait and see if peace in Angola will last ... This is particularly the case with Angolan professionals who have good jobs abroad and are well integrated in the host country."

Among the problems related to attracting health workers back to Angola was the lack of motivation for working in rural areas. "Incentives to work in the provinces are not provided by the Ministry of Health, but are left to the provinces and only a few have so far adopted such measures [which include housing and transportation]," the report pointed out.

Angola's international scholarship programme was also questioned. "Angolan students [abroad] received extraordinarily high stipends, especially those who studied in Western Europe. This has actually encouraged their permanent settlement in the host country, since they were able to set up families and buy houses."

When newly graduated Angolans did return, they were often reluctant to work outside the capital city, Luanda.

"Because of these problems some have started to argue that, rather than sending Angolan health students abroad, training and capacity building should be provided inside the country, taking local needs into consideration," the IOM suggested.

In Zambia, the economic crisis following the world collapse of copper prices in the mid-1970s, compounded by oil price shocks and recurring drought, sparked an exodus of skilled Zambians searching for a better life abroad.

"Since then, Zambia's economy never fully recovered due to macroeconomic instability, incomplete policy reforms and a continued contraction of food production," the report noted.

The growing liberalisation of trade and the resultant growth in imported goods with no, or limited, customs duties also negatively affected the manufacturing sector; the privatisation of state assets contributed to a steady decline in employment in the formal sector, so that "today the main source of employment remains the informal sector".

Faced with reduced opportunities for decent employment, many skilled Zambians opted to emigrate. "The country has experienced a very critical brain drain ... triggered by rising demands for skilled labour in more advanced and industrialised countries within and outside the region," the study found.

In the 1980s, for example, a large number of Zambian teachers left the country to fill a critical skills gap in the education sector in neighbouring Botswana.

There has also been an exodus of health workers, particularly doctors and registered nurses. According to the ministry of health, "the loss of health workers in the public sector is reaching some staggering peaks". An example of this was the Kitwe Central Hospital in the Copperbelt Province.

"Poor accommodation and nonpayment of housing allowances, lack of transport to go to work, low salaries and poor conditions of service, a deteriorating working environment, and a high workload, resulting in fatigue and burnout, were the main reasons why health staff were leaving the public hospital. Sixty percent of the health staff [who left the hospital] went to work in the private sector. The remaining health staff emigrated to Botswana (16 percent), Britain (20 percent) and New Zealand (4 percent)," the IOM noted.

Although there was no statistical evidence regarding the return of skilled Zambians, field interviews gave the impression "that hardly any return migration is taking place".

"Similar to Angola, Zambia also lacks a comprehensive and coherent migration policy. This is somewhat surprising, given that skills migration and the brain drain are issues which have been on the policy agenda for some time now," the study added.

Joensson said among migrants there was always "a natural longing to go home and [governments] could try to help and facilitate their return".

"In Zambia, for instance, some donors have gone in and actually said, 'we will sponsor a certain number of doctors in rural areas'; the government has gone in and said, 'we want to make sure that there's equipment [in hospitals and clinics]; maybe the doctors in the rural areas [should] get housing allowances', etc ... and through that programme they have managed to retain a number of doctors, and it could potentially be attractive to people keen to return home anyway," she commented.

In Angola, the peace process and the country's natural resources were significant lures for skilled migrants.

"It is advisable to strengthen the links between the country and its diaspora, and take immediate measures that enhance spontaneous return migration," the study recommended.

While Zambia's brain drain problem was structural, it was "more acute and more deeply rooted", making the retention of highly skilled nationals of primary importance. "At the same time, it is hardly less important to identify ways to encourage the temporary return of Zambian professionals working abroad, and who may not yet be ready to move back home on a permanent basis," the report concluded.

Both countries urgently needed to factor the costs of migration into their national and sectoral development initiatives.

[ENDS]