Former Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) leader Nelson Chamisa has announced a two-day consultation tour of the United Kingdom saying he wants to engage Zimbabweans living abroad on the country’s future and the role of the diaspora in national development.
Chamisa said he would meet Zimbabwean citizens in London, Manchester and Corby on Thursday and Friday as part of what he described as a Diaspora Citizens Consultation, Engagement and Listening Tour.
In a social media post addressed to Zimbabweans in the United Kingdom, Chamisa said the meetings were intended to provide a platform for citizens to share their views on Zimbabwe’s challenges and opportunities.
“Fellow Zimbabwean Citizens in the United Kingdom, over the next few days, I will be undertaking a Diaspora Citizens Consultation, Engagement and Listening Tour across the United Kingdom. This tour is an opportunity to hear your perspectives, engage on the challenges and opportunities facing our nation, and strengthen the vital partnership between Zimbabwe and its diaspora,” said Chamisa.
The former opposition leader has increasingly framed his political engagements around citizen consultations arguing that Zimbabweans both at home and abroad should play a central role in shaping the country’s future.
The United Kingdom is home to one of the largest Zimbabwean diaspora communities with many maintaining close economic and social ties with relatives back home through remittances, investments and skills transfers.
While Chamisa did not provide further details of the agenda for the meetings, the consultations are expected to focus on the country’s political and economic trajectory and the contribution the diaspora can make to national development.
The engagements come as Zimbabwe’s diaspora continues to be viewed as an important source of foreign currency inflows and expertise with successive governments and political actors seeking to deepen engagement with citizens living overseas.
Chamisa said the tour would also seek to strengthen the relationship between Zimbabwe and its diaspora by providing an opportunity for open dialogue with citizens based in the United Kingdom.
