In a recent newspaper article entitled “Zanu PF wants retention of old executive order” Zimbabwe’s former ruling party ZANU-PF is proposing various ideas for the new constitution. On citizenship and bill of rights, only children born in the Diaspora would be allowed dual citizenship. This immediately creates two Citizenship classes in one family. Legal family division starts and is imposed by the state. This is not progressive and is just designed to excluded exiled Zimbabweans from voting and participating in National affairs and Nation building.
Clearly Zimbabwe’s former ruling party – ZANU-PF is already trying to rig the next election by excluding all non-resident Zimbabweans from participating in the new constitution and from voting. Some statistics indicate more than 30 % of Zimbabwe’s population lives outside the country in countries such as Botswana, South Africa, UK,USA, NZ, Canada etc. This means any election which doesn’t allow non resident Zimbabweans to vote is clearly a manipulated election which does not represent the views of a majority of Zimbabweans.
There is a disturbing trend that seems to suggest that one is less of a Zimbabwean just by not being based in Zimbabwe. This idea is being promoted by politicians who feel exiled Zimbabweans may not be supportive of certain policies and ideas. Exiled Zimbabweans have played a critical role in keeping Zimbabwe from total collapse through remittance of millions of dollars every month. This is the money that keep the country going when there was not International Bank or Institution prepared to lend money to the nation. And the Diaspora is being stripped of voting rights and Citizenship as a thank you for keeping the country going?
The attempt to allow children born in the Diaspora dual Citizenship whilst forbidding their parents is a well calculated election rigging scheme by ZANU PF. Firstly the calculation is that these children born in the Diaspora are mostly still too young to vote. And secondly even if when they are old enough most of them are unlikely to be too keen to involve themselves in the politics of Zimbabwe, a country they will hardly know as most will not grow up in the Country. Thirdly these children may not have a correct perspective of Zimbabwe’s history for them to be able to take positions which their parents may see as more informed.
Zimbabwe loses nothing by allowing multiple citizenship. Multiple citizenship is a status in which a person is concurrently regarded as a citizen under the laws of more than one state. Multiple citizenships exist because different countries use different, and not necessarily mutually exclusive, citizenship requirements.
Many progressive countries consider multiple citizenship desirable because it increases opportunities for their citizens to compete and build contacts globally, and/or have taken active steps towards permitting multiple citizenship in recent years (e.g., Australia since April , 2002). India, has introduced a form of overseas citizenship
In order for the New Constitutional consultation process to be successful or at least gather pace, there is need for a UN involvement which will make funding flow much more easily as donor longer trust Harare administrators.
In some cases, multiple citizenship can create additional tax liability for the exiles. Countries that impose tax will generally use a combination of three factors when determining if a person is subject to taxation. This is an area that the New constitution must carefully considered before trying to strip Diaspora Zimbabweans of the voting and citizenship rights.
Residency - a country may tax the income of anyone who lives there, regardless of citizenship or whether the income was earned in that country or abroad
Source - a country may tax any income generated there, regardless of whether the earner is a citizen, resident, or non-resident; or
Citizenship - a country may tax the worldwide income of their citizens, regardless of whether they reside in that country or not.
Investment – The Diaspora has been investing seriously in Zimbabwe’s real estate by buying investment and rental properties. Zimbabwe is desperate need for investment and it is not progressive or wise to seek to strip voting and citizenship rights from people who have shown so much commitment to their country.
Even for the elections, there is need to involve more accountable and respected Institutions such as the United Nations in the confirmation of the electoral roll, constituency boundaries and the actual monitoring of voting.
The 2008 election only showed that Zimbabwe can be Democratic and the people’s will can be and will be respected. One thing is for sure the toothpaste that cannot be squeezed back into the tube. There is a general trend for Zimbabweans to move with the times and not be divided by ethnicity or social class. The current attempts to grant different citizenship class between parents and children born in the diaspora must be exposed then resisted at all costs. This is not Nation building but rather a self serving scheme for politicians to exclude anyone who they feel may not subscribe to their policies.
Of late Zimbabwe’s history is one of persecution and forced migration, and as such the only thing that you can be sure to bring with you up when you're forced out of your home or country is your brain, effort to be recognized and power to network and work as a group with a common purpose. This is what Zimbabwe’s Diaspora desperately needs to work on and avoid being excluded from National affairs under various excuses.
This article appears as courtesy of GMRI Capital ( www.gmricapital.com) prepared for 3MG MEDIA
Gilbert Muponda is a Co-Founder of 3MG Media . He can be reached at;
Email: gilbert@3mgmedia.ca . Skype ID: gilbert.Muponda
Twitter ; http://twitter.com/gmricapital
Phone: 1-416-841-5542
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