Malawi explores engagement with Diaspora: Law scholar says Diaspora vital
Malawi government has embarked on a project to enable it to forge a national Diaspora engagement strategy with President Peter Mutharika saying government is pushing for the review of the Citizenship Act so that Malawians can start exploiting the benefits of dual citizenship.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with funding from the international Centre for Migration Policy and Development (ICPMD), has organised a consultation on Diaspora engagement with Malawians to be held in Dublin, Ireland on May 27 to 29, according to Gloria Bamusi coordinator of Diaspora Affairs.
Bamusi said Malawi is in the h process of coming up with a Diaspora Engagement Policy and the meeting will be “consultative” to Malawians in Diaspora.
Government wants to mobilise the Diaspora community for social-economic development of Malawi, according to Bamusi.
President Mutharika speaking when he opened parliament this month said the review of Citizenship Act will ensure government consider allowing Malawians to hold dual citizenship.
Currently, Malawians who take up citizenship of other countries must relinquish their Malawian citizenship.
If legalized, dual citizenship will allow Malawians who become citizens of other countries to move back and forth between the two involved countries any time they want without going through the rigorous visa process.
Meanwhile, Malawian law experts at University of Cape Town (UCT), Professor Danwood Chirwa has said the links between locals and the Diaspora can be an important asset for a poor country like Malawi.
“The Diaspora can be a link for educational and employment opportunities for people back home. It also provides a source of state revenue through remittances,” said Chirwa in comments cited by Malawi News Agency report.
He bemoaned the lack of interest from Malawi to utilize the skills of her people in Diaspora.
“We are not a serious people with serious national goals. We are a fundamentally self-interested and corrupt people, unwilling to assess our abilities and weaknesses.
“We are threatened by those that appear to be better than ourselves. Our institutions and cultures do not provide the conditions for people to realize their full potential and thus for the best among us to be allowed to work to their best potential. We are a dysfunctional society. Can this be reversed? I do not know,” wondered Chirwa.
Follow and Subscribe Nyasa TV :
This is bullshit!! Nicompoops abandon home for diaspora and we think they be be better at solving issues back home??
Crap!
What wanders me is that he is talking while he is outside malawi. And he call himself a law expert come here in malawi and advocate will lesten to you. Not now as you yourself there called kwelekwele.
Mbuzi wanthumwe! Do you to be brought to step one again? Call JUMANI son of Kamuzu to explain to you this topic. People have saved in UK while they are in Zimbabwe.Malawi will one day change the name and disappear, ndithu.
Malawi will not rise because of jealousy. Fools jealous of those who live in other countries doing better than them. Don’t you know when those overseas rise you also rise? Imagine the jobs that can be created through investments by those overseas? Malawian have a crabs in a bucket mentality. Dual citizenship is the answer.
It is travesty to deny citizenship to Malawians in the diaspora when so many foreigners enjoy semi citizenship rights in Malawi. We from the diaspora are given 30 days of stay when we arrive in Malawi yet so many Chinese and others freely live in Malawi without time limitation.
How can people in diaspora invest in their home country when they are denied citizenship in their home country? You must understand that to live in diaspora freely, having a citizenship of that adopted country opens up more social and economic opportunities. However, a place of birth remains a true home because of family relations, friends and cultural roots. Being denied citizenship on the ground that you have gained unconditional rights to leave in another country is unfair in this modern age. This is what stop people from investing in their own home countries because they will be investing as… Read more »
No to dual citizenship. With dual citizenship, when things are not favourable in one country the citizen will simply flee to the other country. It is not necessary to have dual citizenship in order to invest or remit. All that is needed is our government to make it favourable for Malawians in the diaspora to invest back home. Those who are advocating for dual citizenship want it for the convenience of exploiting Malawi. We should not allow citizenship of convenience and selfish motives.
Totally agree. Diasporas are vital in any country especially poor developing countries like ours. Diasporas have saved many countries’ foreign reserves from total collapse.
It is crazy putting restrictions on the lives and business intentions or aspirations of diasporas simply because they are carrying a piece of paper from another country. They are Malawians through and through and no different from you who are in malawi.
I don’t like dpp but on this one I support them 100%.
This guy always contradicts with the subject . He has ill feelings about our country and the ruling party. To hello with you miserable so called law expert
The problem of double royalties which is made worse by green grass syndrome.