Diasporans can help build nation

Columnists
Listening to both Zanu PF and MDC-T politicians speak on the topical issue of Diasporans, one is left dumbfounded on how the two political parties have  suddenly found common ground in advancing the argument that Diasporans the world over can make a significant contribution in rebuilding the country only when they are in Zimbabwe and nowhere else.

With the world fast turning into a global village, thanks to technological advances, this contribution seeks to interrogate  the question of whether  Diasporans cannot do just as wonderful a job from whichever station around the globe they are, as they have always done?The pace at which Zanu PF and MDC-T are moving to outdo each other in making sure that Diasporans are returned to Zimbabwe is not only surprising but smacks of political formations filled with ingrates, who are intent on applying any desperate measures, including stone-age tactics, to gain or remain in power. The tactics come in various forms such as formulating pieces of legislation to paying visits to Diasporans in their host countries with the aim of persuading and sometimes forcing them to come back to Zimbabwe without remedying the root causes which made the country’s nationals flee in the first place.Foremost, it was Zanu PF, which came up with legislation which is still binding in this country, abolishing dual citizenship. The moment someone obtains citizenship of another country, he/she automatically ceases to be a Zimbabwean citizen. It does not end there, that person is also disenfranchised and cannot participate in any electoral activity in Zimbabwe. In addition to this legislation Zanu PF drove millions of people outside the country through, among a myriad of issues, questionable policies, systematic violence, torture and rape of women in a failed bid to suppress dissent.In other words, Zanu PF offered the country’s nationals two options. Option number one  was  that, one chooses to live with the above untenable conditions in order to remain a citizen or secondly, flees the country then automatically loses his/her citizenship which also goes along with forfeiting one’s voting rights. The majority of people in the Diaspora opted for the latter and lost their Zimbabwean citizenship.