Every Zimbabwean has a right to vote
The bloated Government of National Unity (GNU) in its bid to obtain under duress hard-earned Diaspora monies—and after mortgaging every available national asset to the Chinese and other foreign bidders—is now technically insolvent and preparing to sink its parasitic tenterhooks into the pockets of exiled Zimbabweans.
Anemari ndiyemukuru – whoever holds the purse string is king. The Diaspora—Zimbabwe’s brain trust and human resource reservoir—is the key to economic recovery.
For a bargain price, soon to be set by arrogant and dictatorial Zimbabwean GNU officials oblivious of life in the Diaspora, our collective right to vote and choose the government of our choice will now become a commodity controlled by some self-serving politicians with an axe to grind.
The notion that every citizen of Zimbabwe in the Diaspora today has lesser rights than their counterparts in Zimbabwe is contemptuous and demands deafening condemnation.
The problematic pomposity amongst the fiscally careless ruling class in Zimbabwe has reared its ugly head again. Whom did the “we-know-what’s-good-for-you GNU cabinet” confer with in the Diaspora over the proposed “tax for rights” matter?
Mysterious discussions at secretive venues with a handful of handpicked reticent academics and detached intellectuals do not constitute broad consultations –zvikanzi pakata hazvina kunzi ridza!!!
There are three types of Zimbabwean exiles in the Diaspora: Political – those who left because their lives were in danger; Academic – those who left for further education; and Economic – those who left for financial reasons. If consultation has occurred with only one out of the three groups of Diaspora citizens, especially those who left specifically to advance their education, there is a strong possibility that this academia group is unaware or untouched by the realities of life under the brutal regime back home.
The GNU is erroneously conferring with a group of secluded academic exiles who do not even know the price of a bucket of maize (gokoko/bhagidhi) in Zimbabwe – persons who were students in Zimbabwe and now professional students in the Diaspora, most of whom never voted. It might be how things are done in Harare in the GNU; however, all groups of exiles demand their voices be heard.
Diaspora citizens have now become accustomed to candid town hall meetings and vibrant political debate within their communities in exile. There must be the same transparency and inclusion in every conversation that affects Zimbabwean exiles; the Diaspora population refuse to be taken for granted.
Makorokoza, gold-panners account for 95% of Zimbabwe’s alluvial gold production. Vanahwindi nemajega, the informal sector logistics consultants at every bus terminus and vanaamai pamusika, mothers who wake up at 3.00 in the morning to buy fresh farm produce for resale; and hurudza, communal farmers who produce almost 1 million tonnes of maize, constitute 70% of Zimbabwe’s voting public and do not pay taxes.
The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) recently revealed that persons who benefited from the chaotic fast track land redistribution exercise are not paying any taxes. These people now occupy Zimbabwe’s most productive land that previously generated taxes. “Charity begins at home” – collect taxes from those people first.
The Diaspora community is unwilling to subsidise inept land occupiers who receive, then misuse, gratuitous farm inputs at the taxpayer’s expense.
Informal moneychangers awash with remittances sent by relatives of Diaspora residents prop up the economy. This group is often referred to as the parallel or black-market by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) and is neither taxed nor regulated.
The informal sector constituency does not income pay (Pay As You Earn, P.A.Y.E), or corporate tax, and yet has been responsible for choosing Zimbabwe’s successive governments. Every nursing political party requires these blue-collar workers to perform the heavy lifting necessary to resuscitate the moribund economy.
With unemployment running at an estimated 80%, Zimbabwe collects income taxes from a meagre 20% of its population with total non-payment from the informal sector and government officials who now insist on tax from exiles to fund their lavish lifestyles.
The Diaspora constitutes a portion of Zimbabwean citizens who are 100% employed outside of the country. If conservative figures of 3 million exiled Zimbabweans are used, this constitutes a gold mine for any tax collector. An uncomplicated US$10 per month tax on every Zimbabwean in the Diaspora would rake in US$30 million for the treasury.
If the self-important GNU ministers want Diaspora taxes, then the Diaspora sternly demand “taxation with representation” through a constitutional change that creates USA, Canada, EU and African Diaspora based Members of Parliament to represent in the House of Assembly in Zimbabwe the political interests of exiled Zimbabweans.
Concerns of privacy and the ubiquitous identity theft threat present a challenge to a GNU proposal. Personal information is sacrosanct in Western economies. Social security numbers, driver’s licences and other personal financial information are secured by the rule of law. Nefarious politicians in the GNU might misuse information collected under the guise of such a tax. To convince people in the Diaspora accustomed to civil liberties and efficient social services to surrender their security for a vote—that might still be rigged—is a tall order – manyangira yaoona!
Unless the Diaspora is involved in the constitutional reform process, which safeguard dual citizenship rights and ushers in a transparent administration anchored in the rule of law, this “tax for votes” proposal is a fallacy. The proposed “tax for citizenship rights” scheme is political sham, unconstitutional and blatantly disingenuous.
If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck – it is a duck. The GNU will usurp the political rights and political power of Diaspora citizens with this proposed tax. Diaspora citizens of Zimbabwean origin already pay taxes in their respective countries of abode and enjoy the services attributed to those taxes.
Diaspora Zimbabweans will enthusiastically pay taxes and return to help rebuild the economy as soon as the reason for their flight—Mugabe—is gone.
Phil Matibe – www.madhingabucketboy.com
