ZBIN Continues with the agenda of Diaspora Engagement  looking at possible areas Governments in Southern Africa can benefit from implementing Diaspora Strategies. Last time we brought you the advantages that can accrue to both parties- Home Countries and the Diaspora.

Today we cover 10 principles of good practice in drafting Diaspora Strategies.

A diaspora strategy should be centralized enough to ensure that a common identity, sense of purpose, collective consciousness, economies of scale, and strategic priorities can be achieved, but loose enough to let a thousand flowers bloom. Coordinated anarchy is not entirely indispensable.

1. A diaspora strategy cannot privilege economic ties over social and cultural networks and still be sustainable.
2. A diaspora strategy needs to be mutually beneficial for both home countries and diasporic populations.
3. Countries that know their Diasporas well will be better placed to engage them.

5. Diaspora strategies should define ‘diaspora’ as broadly as possible to avoid racializing national social, cultural, economic, and political policies – and should include affinity Diasporas policies where appropriate.

6. The diaspora needs to be consulted before any diaspora strategy is rolled out; diaspora strategies must be co-authored if they are to work.
7. Diaspora strategies need to be transparent and need to be held accountable, but given the specificity and the many intangible benefits of policy interventions, distinctive and unique policy impact analysis tools and evaluative frameworks and metrics need to be developed.

8. There is no ideal institutional framework for coordinating diaspora strategies; each country needs to devise forms of engagement which reflect their own institutional histories, social, cultural, economic, and political needs, and the histories, structures and organization of their diaspora.

9. Diaspora strategies need to be brought into the growing international conversation about best practice and should pro-actively affiliate themselves with networks involved in policy dissemination.
10. Diaspora strategies need to be underpinned by a philosophically grounded rationale which resonates with the country’s deepest social, economic, cultural, and political needs at any point in time. Shallow slogans might lead to short-term gains but will fail over the long term; a meaningful overarching identity will galvanise and energize.

Credit: Prof. Mark Boyle, Prof. Rob Kitchin, and Dr. Delphine Ancien, NUI Maynooth, Irelan

When it comes to business information, ZBIN leads the pack and credit goes to members who freely contribute business information. In other countries this information is expensive as one has to part with a lot of monies to obtain basic business information.

As ZBIN we like to help members with free information so that this can assist you in decision making. We provide the information on a publicly available platform such that information provided can be corrected should it turn out to be false.

So this Sunday we are in Mozambique and we find a sister, a member of the forum-Mrs Faith Kapita! She has agreed to give us an insight into Pemba, the tourist city near the border with Tanzania.

Below is my interview with her

Tell us about yourself

Iam currently a house wife but do bake cakes as my main business

How is the weather in Pemba?

Temperatures are very high and can get up to 30 degrees Celsius by 7:00am and this hot weather sometimes adversely affect my baking business because it sometimes force me to use fresh cream and butter instead of icing.

Do you have a Company?

I successfully registered my company yesterday and also opened a bank account at the same time.

Is there a Zim Community or you are the only Zimbo there?

Yes there is a Zim community here and its quite large. Some people are employed formally and some re into buying and selling(vanouya kuzotengesa masheets)

What is the best time to visit Pemba?

There is no best time as our weather conditions rarely fluctuates-its usually hot through out the year(kutsva basi all year).

Education for kids, do you have schools for expats?

We only have one international school and my kid is going there for grade one next year. The fees are 40,500 per quarter and each year has 4 quarters

Cost of Living in Pemba

The cost of living is expensive since this is a tourist town

Major Shops/Supermarkets in Pemba

We currently have 3 grocery shops and that is VIP , PEP and Rechero. We have challenges of boutiques such that if you like top quality clothes then you must go to Dare Salam or Maputo.

Nearest City to Pemba

The nearest city to us is Nampula which is 550 kilometres away.

Do you have banks?

Yes we have Moza Banco, Standard, UNICO,Barclays and BC1, they all have visa cards.

Other Professionals in Pemba?

We have plenty of Somalians who operate spaza shops selling electricals, plastics and Chinaware. Senegalese also own spaza shops. Pakistanis own grocery wholesales and locals in the informal sector do sell ‘fat cooks’.

In this photo: A spaza shop owned by a Senegalese

Do you grow Fruit and Veges?

No our greens come from Nampula which is 550kms away as mentioned earlier

Electricity and Water Availability

Electricity is forever available, water is a challenge for out of town. We buy drinking watr from Augua Quivk or Agua Petra