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In pursuit of the diaspora dollar
Nelson Banya , Financial Gazette (Zimbabwe)
June 24, 2004

IF you can meet with triumph and disaster. And treat those two imposters just the same. Then you are a man, my son . . . But make allowance for their doubting too . . .

The preceding verses, penned by the lionised British writer Rudyard Kipling in his immortal poem IF, would aptly sum up the foray by Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor, Gideon Gono, and his team into the diaspora.

Not least because the famous writer spent part of his life abroad (in colonial India), but because the triumph and disaster were always distinctly possible outcomes of the RBZ team's excursion to the United States, Britain and South Africa.

Gono himself indicated upon arrival that his entourage had met with various stakeholders with interests in Zimbabwe.

"Various financial institutions with interests in Zimbabwe, business people and conglomerate investors, asset and fund managers were also engaged in high-level meetings with the governor in Washington, London and Johannesburg, with satisfactory outcomes.

"Results of these initiatives should show themselves soon," Gono said.

There were obvious successes recorded immediately, with the communication of the Homelink money transfer system to non-resident Zimbabweans and the registration of interest to invest in the country, being top on this list.

An RBZ statement released upon the team's return indicates that "as much as US$135 million proposals for housing projects back home" had been submitted by the non-residents.

In the United Kingdom, commitments of projects ran up to as much as 800 000 pounds, with some 22 000 pounds having been collected from about 160 Zimbabweans.

The Washington leg of the trip also saw Gono meeting senior officials at the Bretton Woods institutions, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, as part of efforts to consolidate the nascent détente that has been established between the monetary authorities in Harare and the multilateral donor organisations, after a bitter fall-out with the government.

Gono's three-tiered mission was not without incident, though, as his retinue encountered demonstrations in London and South Africa, with a vocal section of the Zimbabwean population in those cities venting their anger against the Harare government through Gono, who was perceived to be the government's proxy.

However, Gono evaded issues pertaining to human rights, the rule of law and the disenfranchisement of the non-resident Zimbabweans in the last presidential election, insisting that his mission was not political.

Gono even referred to the South African incident where he was barred by angry youths from addressing a gathering of an estimated 600 Zimbabweans - including professionals working in that country, businessmen and academics, as "spicy" - a tongue-in-cheek reference to the food that was looted by the marauding demonstrators who were reported to have pelted the team, which included Zimbabwe's ambassador to Pretoria Simon Khaya Moyo, with missiles.

Far from being a laughing matter the incident, coming as it did at the very end of Gono's trip, brought up, albeit in a reprehensible manner, the concerns that have to be dealt with before all can be expected to buy into the Homelink scheme which has gotten off to a start exceeding expectations.

Although the jury might still be out on the success or lack thereof of the RBZ foray into the diaspora, the Homelink publicity campaign, mounted by none other than its chief architect Gono himself, is sure to bring positive results.

While the political undertones that have stalked virtually every official Zimbabwean scheme since polarisation set into the country's body politic four years ago can scarcely be dismissed (although the opposition Movement for Democratic Change denies organising the London and Johannesburg demonstrations, sceptics abound), it is apparent that the current turnaround efforts will always have to live with the spectre of politics spoiling everything.

It is therefore imperative that the political crisis, basically the standoff between the ruling party ZANU PF and the Movement for Democratic Change should be immediately eased. They should come out of their trenches and seek a negotiated settlement.

Political analysts say chances of that happening are disappearing with each passing day as the nation trudges, yet again, towards another divisive election in March 2005.

With nothing, therefore, expected to move forward on that front, it therefore makes for an onerous task for Gono and his team at the central bank and their colleagues in Treasury, to implement measures targeted at arresting the economic malaise in an environment poisoned by politics.

In the face of the disasters that await this course, even the unrepenting critics of the current stabilisation programme being spearheaded from the RBZ are beginning to come around to the realisation that amid the disaster that has dragged the economy down to a 30 percent contraction in four years, triumph was possible.

The RBZ's inflation-busting efforts are a case in point.

When Gono announced that the bank would be targeting annualised inflation of between 170 percent and 200 percent by December 2004, gainsayers pointed at the then levels of about 600 percent, indicating that this was an unattainable target.

Halfway into the year, the rate has declined from a high of 622.9 percent in January to 448.8 percent in May.

Economic analysts and even the hard-to-please IMF have recently announced that the target was well within sight.

All in all, the RBZ officials' pilgrimage to Washington, London and Johannesburg provided valuable lessons and an opportunity to interface with important stakeholders, some of which are indispensable in the ongoing efforts to extricate the country from the rut.

The resolution and renewed confidence within the corridors of 50 Samora Machel Avenue, Harare persists despite the ever-present threat of disaster, or the appearance of it.

"Zimbabweans in the diaspora are convinced, just as we are, that we are on the right track," Gono declared.

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