Taurayi Chamboko said action was required, rather than speeches. He expressed optimism that a new constitution “will bring peace to our country”, adding that the country had lost out on the skills of hundreds of thousands of professional and business people who had left the country as a result of human rights violations, political violence and economic hardships caused by bad governance.
“Other countries are benefiting from this talent. It all revolves around the issue of the rule of law which I hope will be corrected through the new constitution. This is the reason why our industry is down and unemployment high.”
Chamboko said people living in the diaspora had a critical role play in rebuilding the country’s economy. An estimated 100,000 Zimbabweans live in the United Kingdom.
“Many people in the Diaspora have been exposed to new technology and different ways of doing things. Those in the USA and Europe have had access to free education and I know many have taken advantage of this. Their experience and knowledge will be greatly appreciated in the new Zimbabwe,” said Chamboko.
He said Zimbabwe needed to mend relations with the international community if efforts to revive the economy were to bear fruit. “There is no way we can do it alone. We should encourage friendship with big markets such as America and others,” he said.
Meanwhile, Bishop Paul Verryn of the Central Methodist Church refugee centre in Johannesburg has called on the GNU to be vigilant in stamping out political violence. “It also has to address issues of the security forces because that is where the biggest problem lies,” said Verryn, whose organisation provided a home for thousands traumatised by the 2008 political violence that resulted in more than 400 gruesome deaths.
He ruled out any meaningful numbers of the refugees heading back home to vote in the coming elections.
“Many of those people are still profoundly traumatised by what happened last time. I know that if the chance arrived for Zimbabweans to feel safe, they would love to go and be part of the elections, but not now,” he said, but called for a huge turnout for those who could still brave the situation and those who remain at home.
“First of all, let us all struggle to ensure that as many people as possible can vote and that’s not just the government’s responsibility, but every citizen’s responsibility. Secondly, once this election is over, may it be that Zimbabwe begins to take care of its poorest of the poor.”
Post published in: Africa News