20091222
allafrica

There has been an outburst of anger by some Zimbabweans living in the Diaspora in response to a new proposal that Zimbabwean expatriates pay a tax in exchange for voting rights.

The proposal to tax the expatriate community was outlined in a new economic blueprint, unveiled by Finance Minister Tendai Biti last week. The document, titled 'Moving Forward in Zimbabwe - Reducing Poverty and Promoting Growth' recommended various other strategies to try to hasten the country's economic recovery. The report was produced by 13 Zimbabwean academics and published by the Brooks World Poverty Institute at the University of Manchester in the UK.

Biti gave a keynote address at the launch last week, where he urged expatriates to support the economic recovery process by investing in the economy. Biti agreed that tapping into the savings of expatriates through taxation, in exchange for voting and citizenship rights, was one way the flailing unity government could source much-needed funds for economic recovery.

But the idea has sparked an angry outburst from some Zimbabweans in the Diaspora, many of whom were forced to leave the country for fear of their lives. Zimbabwean human rights lawyer Gabriel Shumba, who fled the country after being viciously tortured by state agents in 2003, expressed his outrage to SW Radio Africa on Tuesday. Shumba fled to South Africa where he started the Zimbabwe Exiles Forum, which fights for the rights and protection of Zimbabweans in the Diaspora. He explained that taxation of the expatriate community would amount to "nothing more than complete extortion," calling the bid an attempt by the government "to force people to buy back their citizenship."

"Our rights to vote and our rights to citizenship are non negotiable," Shumba said. "This tax suggestion makes the presumption that to be Zimbabwean, you have to pay for those rights and that is unacceptable."

The report, which has not yet been made official, urged the unity government to accord dual citizenship and voting rights to the millions of Zimbabweans scattered across the world, but at a price.

"Confidence-boosting measures would include allowing dual nationality, restoring voting rights for migrants who hold Zimbabwean citizenship, and creating mechanisms for them to be heard. In exchange, migrants should be prepared to pay an annual tax for retaining Zimbabwean nationality," the report recommended.

Shumba argued that the community in the Diaspora is being further isolated by such a report, which was made without any consultation with leading Diaspora rights groups, such as the Exiles Forum. He said the suggestion being made is that Zimbabweans in the Diaspora are no longer real citizens of the country, and are only welcome back at a price.

"Zimbabweans in the Diaspora will refuse to be held to ransom by a report that they weren't even consulted about," Shumba said, adding "it is very disappointing."