State must engage the diaspora meaningfully in nation building

This year’s Kenya Diaspora Homecoming Convention will take place from December 19-21 at Ole Sereni Hotel, Nairobi.

Notable members of the community expected include Dr Mukhisa Kituyi, the secretary-general of UNCTAD; Universal Postal Union Director-General Bishar Abdirahman Hussein; Erastus Mwencha, the African Union Commission deputy chair; and Dr Josephine Ojiambo, who until recently, was the deputy secretary-general of the Commonwealth secretariat.

The convention is seen as an increasingly important platform for the diaspora community to engage local political and economic actors on areas of mutual interest to foster development, expand the democratic space and strengthen bilateral and multilateral relations.

EXTERNAL FINANCE

Central Bank of Kenya figures show diaspora remittances for the first 10 months of the year as Sh223.4 billion, a new high that exceeds last year’s receipts by an impressive Sh287 million. In 2016, they equalled 79 per cent of bilateral aid.

Aid receipts have flatlined in recent years even as remittances rose significantly. The diaspora has, hence, become a leading mobiliser of external finance.

Motivated by aid receipts, developing countries often place greater priority on the way they engage with their bilateral and multilateral partners. The emergence of the diaspora as a potentially transformative development partner, therefore, calls for a rethink of development co-operation.

INNOVATION DRIVERS

But the diaspora community does more than send money home. The members are seen as drivers of dynamism, innovation and transformation — all key determinants of development aspirations, including the Sustainable Development Goals, Vision 2030 and the President’s ‘Big Four’ agenda. They are language and cultural ambassadors who routinely bring home new ideas, skills and knowledge, facilitate cross-border trade and investment and help to create markets.

At the 2013 Diaspora Ministerial Conference organised by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), it was emphasised that, to understand who and where the diasporas are, governments should begin by contextualising their role in society, their needs and their potential to contribute to development in both the host and countries of origin.

DIASPORA POLICY

Several countries have mechanisms to collect and disseminate diaspora-related data — such as surveys and censuses. Some have undertaken a mapping of diaspora geographic distribution and created databases of diaspora skills, experiences and interests.

In Kenya, however, not much has happened since the Ministry of Foreign Affairs developed the Diaspora Policy four years ago. Despite improvements in ICTs, including social media, the government is largely in the dark regarding the geographical and numeric distribution of its people overseas.

There has been no attempt to actualise the Integrated Diaspora Information System mentioned in the policy, a move which continues to undermine the government’s ability to target and attract skilled human resource from abroad.

ARCHAIC REQUIREMENTS

Those wishing to return home cite several stumbling blocks such as a competitive, complicated and often opaque job market, archaic requirements and rigid stance by professional bodies and an inefficient public sector. They say the bodies have antiquated requirements that are both frustrating and discouraging.

An IT professional who spent a little over three years in Nairobi cited career uncertainty and lifestyle vulnerability as reasons for her return to North America.

The government should meet commitments spelt out in the Diaspora Policy. We need to anchor all these on institutional and policy frameworks so as financial and non-financial impact of the diaspora can be felt in all 47 counties.

It is, perhaps, here, in their native counties, that Kenyans living overseas can be truly engaging and transformative.

Mr Chesoli is a New York-based development economist and global policy expert. [email protected], @kenchesoli