Governor declares mission to the Diaspora a success

“I was always confident that our brothers and sisters in the Diaspora would be keen to make use of the Homelink-Kumusha-Ekhaya money transfer system that we put in place for them and to contribute to Zimbabwe’s economic recovery,” he said.

“I am pleased to say that this indeed proved to be the case. Wherever the Reserve Bank team went in the United States, United Kingdom and South Africa it found Zimbabweans anxious to contribute to the country’s economic turnaround.

“The positive response to our outreach to them was overwhelming. I think some members of the team were taken by surprise.

“While they had expected the new money transfer system to be well received, because of its obvious benefits for those using it, they had not expected to find so many expressions of patriotism and eagerness to contribute to Zimbabwe’s economic turnaround through investment and other contributions.”

The Governor said there had been three objectives of the “Great Trek into the Diaspora”.

The first had been to make Zimbabweans in the three countries visited aware of the Homelink?Kumusha-Ekhaya money transfer system the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe had put in place to enable them to send money home to their families or for their own investment purposes quickly, reliably, safely and conveniently.

The second had been to advise them of the investment opportunities there were in Zimbabwe that they could take advantage of.

The third was to consult them and seek their ideas on Zimbabwe’s monetary policy and economic turnaround.

“We were successful on all counts. Evidence of the success of the Homelink message was clear not only in the positive responses from those spoken to but in the increased inflows of foreign currency through money transfer agencies.

“As regards investment, I and the team that went ahead of me found Zimbabweans hungry for information on investment opportunities and the mechanics of how to go about making investments in Zimbabwe.

“In addition to this response from ordinary Zimbabweans and small businesses, we held meetings in Britain, the United States and South Africa with a number of large businesses which want to make substantial investments in Zimbabwe.

“In response to the demand for assistance in investing in Zimbabwe, we have established a foreign investment unit at the Reserve Bank.

“The third aspect of the exercise, consultation, was particularly important for me. I believe wide consultation is important. This is why I consulted so widely on the Reserve Bank’s monetary policy and have established a 35?member Advisory Board that includes representatives of various sectors of the economy.

“I am keen to involve Zimbabweans not only at home but abroad as well in this. We need ideas and contributions from a wide variety of people. No individual has a monopoly of good ideas. There is a good deal of expertise and experience among many Zimbabweans living abroad which we could tap into.

“In South Africa we successfully asked for 12 volunteers for a South African-based think-tank from among Zimbabwean business people, professionals and academics who attended a breakfast meeting with us in Johannesburg. The think-tank will be affiliated to the Advisory Board in Harare. A similar body has been established in the United States

“We also heard various ideas from business people, professionals, academics and ordinary Zimbabweans in all three countries visited,” he said.

The Governor said a number of other business and professional people, as well as academics, who had been prevented from hearing him speak at the Gallagher Estates meeting at Mid-Rand last weekend had said they wished to invite him back to South Africa for private meetings.

They had been prevented from hearing him speak by rowdy Movement for Democratic Change supporters who had been bussed in to disrupt the meeting, the only such disruption of a meeting to occur in the month-long mission.

“I am delighted by the response our team received. Wherever I and the team went we found Zimbabweans keen to rally around efforts to turn around Zimbabwe’s economy and contribute what they could to furthering this turnaround.

“It is the widespread commitment to and support for this objective on the part of Zimbabweans within the country that has enabled us to make the gains we have made so far. It is good to know that our brothers and sisters in the Diaspora are equally committed to this objective and willing to play their part in bringing it about.

“This is every bit as important as the foreign currency we expect to flow into the country as a result of this outreach.

“If we all work together as Zimbabweans, irrespective of our party or any other affiliation, we cannot but succeed in achieving our goal of bringing down inflation and creating a more prosperous Zimbabwe for the benefit of all,” Dr Gono said.

“The Reserve Bank has no doubt that the recent gains in the turnaround of the Zimbabwe economy are sustainable and that the country is firmly on the path to economic recovery. The positive feedback it has received during the Great Trek to the Diaspora confirms our confidence in this.

“I should like to appeal to the few people who are not yet committed to turning the economy around to come on board and join the rest of the nation and their compatriots in the Diaspora in working to achieve this objective for the benefit of themselves, their families and generations to come.”