MASENO UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF DEVELOPMENT AND STRATEGIC STUDIES (SDSS)

BACHELOR OF ARTS IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND DIPLOMACY

UNIT: RACE AND AFRICAN DIASPORA IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

CODE: DIR 411

COURSE LECTURER: MR. W. AGENYA

TASK: GROUP ASSIGNMENT

DATE OF SUBMISSION: 11TH APRIL, 2016

QUESTION: With Regard to the Recently Launched Kenyan Foreign and Diaspora Policy,
Discuss the Influence of African Diaspora on Africa’s International Relations Today

GROUP MEMBERS

NO NAME ADM NO

1 James Ikaal DS/00046/012

2 Lawrence Etoot Liwa DS/00054/012

3 Agness Njuhi DS/00002/012

4 Daniel Kaisali DS/00045/012

5 Nicholas Odhiambo DS/00038/012

African Diaspora

African Diaspora refers to the communities throughout the world that are descended from the
historic movement of peoples from Africa, predominantly to the Americas, Europe, Asia, and the
Middle East, among other areas around the globe. The term has been historically applied in
particular to the descendants of the West and Central Africans who were enslaved and shipped to
the Americas in the Atlantic slave trade, with the largest population in Brazil, followed by the
USA and others. The term also applies to the past and recent voluntary emigration from Africa.
The phrase "African diaspora" was coined during the 1990s, and gradually entered common
usage during the 2000s. Use of the term "diaspora" is modelled after the concept of Jewish
diaspora. Since the 1980s-90s, Diasporas have become the focus of numerous academic research
and publications in the field of social sciences, gradually referring to more and more different
communities around the world. Today, Diasporas can be defined as “national migrant
communities living in interaction among themselves and with their country of origin”. The
notion of diaspora must be distinguished with other phenomenon of migration, as the importance
of the ties between members of the Diasporas and their country of origin is prevalent.

The nature of these ties is diverse: they can be political, economic, cultural as well as social and
academic. Often, Diasporas are also linked to a “founding myth” related to their place of origin
and to the conditions under which they were forced or urged to leave their motherland. As a
matter of fact, according to Dominique Schnapper, many Diasporas are built on a major event,
often dramatic, which ties a community together, despite its geographical dispersion. This is, for
example, the case for the Jewish Diaspora, which appeared after the destruction of the Temple
and the annexation of Judea by Romans.

As of today, the African Diaspora is one of the most important in the world in terms of numbers.
According to the African Union, the African Diaspora is composed of “people of African origin
living outside of the continent, irrespective of their citizenship and nationality, and who are
willing to contribute to the development of the continent and the building of the African
History of African Diaspora

Three main periods can be identified, when it comes to giving an overview of the history of
African Diasporas. Historically, the first wave of forced African migrations began during the
Transatlantic Slave Trade (16th-19th centuries). Europeans captured or bought African slaves,
mostly from West Africa, and brought them to Europe, and later on to South and North America.
The number of Africans who were shipped across the Atlantic is estimated to be around 12
million.

This population movement can be considered as the migration that paved the way for the
constitution of the first African community outside of Africa. In point of fact, slave trade can be
considered as the “founding myth” of the African Diaspora in Europe and in America. Many
Africans were deported out of Africa during this period, but the feeling of belonging to a
community, the African community, did not disappear. In a way, this feeling became even
stronger.

The transatlantic slave trade contributed mostly to creating a large community of African origins
in the American continent, especially in the US and in Brazil. This diaspora belongs to the first
wave of migration, and is often referred to as the historical diaspora. It is to be differentiated,
from later movements of population of the 1960s, in the sense that these migrants blended more
into local populations, partly losing the connection with their land of origin. The members of this
diaspora tend to be more attached to Africa as a continent of origin, rather than linked to a
specific country in Africa. They are still considered as part of the diaspora. In fact, if the concrete
connection to their land of origin was often lost throughout generations, symbolic ties were kept,
which will be assessed later on in this paper.

The colonial period, from the mid XIX° century up until the 1960s, contributed to creating
strong, although very unequal, ties between Africa and Europe. The exchanges between the two
continents were strengthened, and the colonization process contributed to the exploitation of the
African Continent, thereby creating cultural and economic bonds which later on facilitated
migrations and the creation of an African Diaspora in Europe. As a result, an important part of
the African Diaspora can be found in European countries that had colonial history (France,
United-Kingdom, Portugal, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Germany and Spain).

The second African diaspora generation is the result of the difficult process of decolonization.
During the late-colonial period, early post-independence, starting from the 1950s, there was a
great increase of migrations coming from Africa to Europe in terms of numbers, creating the
conditions for the settlement of a longstanding and active African Diaspora. Despite gains of
independence, economic and cultural ties remained strong between the two regions, especially
with the old colonist countries. Many people willingly left the African continent, in the search
for better working or educational opportunities, mostly for Europe and North America. This
period marked a rather important increase in emigration aimed at acquiring better quality of life
and education. This diaspora is mainly the product of “voluntary migrations”. Among the
members of this generation of migrants, the subsistence of ties with the country of origin and
their nature is rather fluctuating. The reasons for why migrants left their homeland differed; the
factors that contributed to migration were not only political persecution but also issues relating to
their cultural and socio-economic background.

Starting from the 1980s, the most common grounds on which Africans left their countries
changed in its nature. Fleeing from broken and breakable states, wars, hopeless poverty or
political persecution became a major cause of emigration, up until today [vii]. This wave of
African emigration influences all parts of societies, and the sociological profiles of the migrants
are very diverse, as Africans of all hierarchies, occupations and age groups can be found. If the
cultural ties are, for the most part, very vivid, there is in general no plan of returning to the
motherland, mostly because of the existing deplorable conditions.

The two ladder waves of migration are often referred to as contemporary diaspora. The members
of this diaspora tend in general to keep more connections to their country of origin, with various
ways of relating.

As of today, the African Diaspora is one of the most active communities of citizens outside of
their countries. Different institutions and African nations are calling them on more and more,
particularly in the attempt of gathering forces in order to foster human development in Africa.
Intra-African Diaspora

As stated in the introduction, there is an academic and an institutional debate as to who exactly is
encompassed within the term of Diaspora, particularly when it comes to who should be targeted
by the policies aiming at fostering “Diaspora Engagement”. One of the questions remaining is
whether or not to include migrants within the African continent. The African Union chooses not
to, as it states in its definition of the diaspora that it must necessarily be located outside of the
continent. One of the grounds for this is that Africans who emigrate outside of Africa, mostly in
the Northern hemisphere, are often wealthier, better-educated and more organized as Africans
migrating within the continent, and have therefore more means of contributing to their home
country development, thereby better fitting the second part of the definition of the African
Union.

This idea also stems from the fact that, for a very long time, migration movements have been
analysed mostly as being a stream from the South to the North, while other geographically
located migrations did not seem as relevant to social scientists.

However, South-South migrations are more important numerically, and continue to grow in
importance and in volume, therefore drawing more and more academic and research attention.
This is true as well for Intra-African migrations. In fact, Africa is the most important destination
for African migrants, as it accounts for about 53% of the total volume of migrations. If this
phenomenon is to be differentiated from Diasporas living outside of the continent, it nevertheless
plays a rather important role in the development of their country of origin.

Intra-African migrations are not a new phenomenon. Long-lasting forms of mobility have existed
in the continent, such as nomadism, or travels along commercial routes. Those movements were
permitted notably by the “porosity and artificiality of African international borders”. As of today,
the total number of is African migrants is estimated to be around 16.3 million.

Intra-African migrations tend to be more developmental in nature, almost always related to the
search of better opportunities in neighbouring countries. It is notably the case of many migrants
from southern African countries, such as Zimbabweans, migrating to South Africa, where 71,5%
of the migrants come from the continent. This type of migration, being closer geographically
speaking, allows for the subsistence of stronger ties between the migrant and his home country,
in terms of cultural bonds as well as in terms of economic contribution to development. As a
matter of fact, the proximity of the host and origin country provides for more opportunities to go
back and forth, thereby “avoiding making a definitive choice between origin and destination
countries (…), but rather maintaining significant ties in both”. The diaspora within the African
continent also tends to maintain rather close relations with the diaspora outside of the continent.

African diaspora populations and estimated distribution

African Americans, Afro-Caribbeans, Black Canadians - descendants of West African slaves

brought to the United States, the Caribbean, and South America during the Atlantic slave trade,
plus later voluntary immigrants from Sub-Saharan Africa and their descendants. The population
in the Caribbean is approximately 23 million. Afro-South American – There are an estimated
100 million people of African descent living in South America. North America

In 2000, African Americans comprised 12.1 percent of the total population in the United States,
constituting the largest racial minority group. Central America.

Zanj - descendants of Zanj slaves whose ancestors were brought to the Near East and other parts
of Asia during the Arab slave trade. Turkey

Beginning several centuries ago, a number of sub-Saharan Africans, usually via Zanzibar and
from places like Kenya, Tanzania and Sudan, were brought by Turkish slave traders during the
Ottoman Empire to plantations around Dalaman, Menderes and Gediz valleys, Manavgat, and
Çukurova.

Siddis - descendants of Zanj slaves whose ancestors were brought to the Indian subcontinent
(Pakistan and India). Also referred to as the Makrani in Pakistan.

Europe

United Kingdom: 2 million (not including British Mixed) split evenly between Afro-Caribbeans
and Africans. France: Estimates of 2 to 3 million of African descent, although one quarter of the
Afro-French or French African population live in overseas territories. Italy: There are an
estimated 1 million to 1.5 million immigrants from Africa in Italy. Netherlands: There are an
estimated 500,000 black people in the Dutch Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles. Germany:
As of 2005, there were approximately 500,000 Afro-Germans (not including those of mixed
ethnicity).

Kenya foreign and Diaspora policy context

Through this policies, Kenya seeks to deepen our engagement and partnerships with the Kenyan
Diaspora in order to leverage and harness their skills and expertise for national development.
Diaspora Diplomacy recognizes the importance of harnessing the diverse skills, expertise and
potential of Kenyans living abroad, and facilitating their integration into the national
development agenda. The Government of Kenya recognizes the huge and untapped potential of
Kenyans Abroad which can contribute to the country’s national development agenda.

The Diaspora contributes a significant percentage to the Kenyan GDP from the remittance they
send back home. Further its contribution in terms of skills and expertise and encouraging
participation of Kenyan citizens abroad in the democratic process amongst others. They also play
a pivotal role in the settlement of disputes and conflict resolution for instance in Kenya after the
post election violence they intervened directly as well as indirectly. This emphasizes the point
that not only financial resources that play part in nation building but also social and political
dialogue, advocacy and awareness to stability for development. In this regard the Diasporas are
also becoming important asses and significant players in building democratic institutions in
Africa. As the Diaspora gains more voice and recognition they have begun demanding
participation in the home country political processes. An increasing number of Africans, in this
instance Kenyans, are seeking elected offices in their home countries, including as members of
the national legislatures and many of the major national political parties rely on the Diaspora
financial contributions during electioneering campaigns.

The role of the Diaspora in the realization of vision 2030 is recognized especially in driving
investment in the priority sectors in the economy such as education, financial services, health,
housing, ICT enabled services, Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), manufacturing and
tourism. The policy therefore contains strategies aimed at effective deployment and utilization of
the expertise, technical knowhow and the entrepreneur skills of Kenyans abroad. Further the
importance of Kenyans abroad has been recognized in the Kenyan constitution. It provides for
the protection of people in the Diaspora hence reduces the discrimination of their people.
Kenyans have been migrating in large numbers to different parts of the world since 1960s to
acquire better training, education and job opportunities while others migrate for political reasons.
To date Kenyans continue to migrate in search of better economic opportunity resulting in major
brain drain. For instance many students that are awarded scholarships to study abroad on
completion of their masters or PhD choose to remain there or are even absorbed there where
there are better working conditions and better pay. A great number for example of African
doctors are in America for example. Despite their critical role abroad, Kenyans continue to face a
major challenge in harnessing their potential due to lack of comprehensive frame work to fully
mainstream Kenyans abroad in the national development.

Contribution of African Diaspora to Africa’s International relations

Pan-Africanism

Pan-Africanism unifies the cultural and political world of African diasporas and the self-
determination of people from Africa, or at least of African origin, as well as the people of
African descent resident outside Africa. Initially, there was an anti-slavery and anti-colonial
movement amongst black people of Africa and the Diaspora in the late nineteenth century. Since
then, the aims of Pan-Africanism have evolved through the ensuing decades.

This movement had its origin in the United States in the late nineteenth century, thanks to the
work of the advocate M.M. Garvey. He stated the idea of creating a common state in Africa to
welcome back all the African Americans.  Later on, Du Bois claimed the need to gain full rights,
both in Africa and in the countries in which African communities resided, created by the forced
migration represented by the slave trade in the previous centuries. Pan-Africanism gained
legitimacy with the founding of the African Association in London in 1897, and the first Pan-
African conference was held, again in London, in 1900 when Henry Sylvester Williams, the
power behind the African Association, and his colleagues were interested in uniting the African
Diaspora, and gaining political rights for those of African descent .

Between 1919 and 1945, Du Bois organized several conferences, which increased and expanded
the influence on the development of the African descendants’ emancipation movement in the
Americas and Europe, as a way of nationalism in colonial Africa. Moreover, between the world
wars, Pan-Africanism became more related and influenced by communism and trade unionism,
especially through the writings of George Padmore, Isaac Wallace-Johnson, Frantz Fanon,
AiméCésaire, Paul Robeson, CLR James, WEB Du Bois, and Walter Rodney. Significantly, Pan-
Africanism had expanded beyond the continent into Europe, the Caribbean and America. WEB
Du Bois organized a series of Pan-African Congresses in London, Paris, and New York in the
first half of the twentieth century. International awareness of Africa was also heightened by the
Italian invasion of Abyssinia (Ethiopia) in 1935.

As a result, many leaders struggling for the independence from European colonial dominations
were formed in this cultural and political context of Pan-Africanism. Among these, N. Nkrumah,
J. Nyerere, A. Toure, M. Keita. The Pan-African ideal also inspired the emergence of regional
groupings, some of which were short-lived, due to the immediate emergence of nationalistic
feelings or tribal differences. There were also manifested divisions about the approach to be
followed in respect of the Western countries and the former colonial powers: the countries
'reformists', the group gathered in Brazzaville, were contrasted those 'revolutionaries' of the
group of Casablanca.

Despite the process of decolonization leading to further fragmentation of the African continent
there was still an opportunity to observe some policy initiatives in the key of Pan-Africanism.
For example, the Organization of African Unity and then African Union, which was established
in 1963.

Both in its mission and structure, the African Union was meant to represent a different and a new
stage in the research for a contemporary pan-African unity. Despite this, soon after the creation
of the Union, it became obvious that a commonly shared understanding of its place in the project
and processes of unification and integration was still not in place. In fact, African people and
especially African revolutionaries are facing today a curious phenomenon, a duality, which
divides the Black African people into so-called Francophone and English speaking countries and
ethnic groups.

According to many authors such as ElengaM’buyinga, the O.A.U. does not have a clear
perception on Africa’s important contemporary problematic, such as the problem of neo-
colonialism. According to the author it is no coincidence that the unification of Africa is hardly
on the agenda at the African Union due to these problematic that are impeding a proper
unification. As a consequence, “the African Union has resulted in being is a Pan-Africanism
without Pan-Africanists, the Pan-Africanism of the anti-Pan-Africanists”.

Nowadays, Pan-Africanism has been relegated to a mere cultural and social philosophy rather
than the strong political movement that used to be in the past. Authors such as Dr. MolefiKete
Asante, are trying to make African people, both in the continent and outside, more aware of the
ancient glorious past and about the African heritage, for instance the ancient Egyptian and
Nubian cultures. This aims to seek a re-evaluation of Africa's place, and the Diaspora, in the
world.

Pan-African movement was raised by world events such as, the Football World Cup in 2010,
held in South Africa[x]. South Africa’s post-apartheid foreign policy was premised on the vision
of “a better South Africa, a better Africa and a better world”. In fact, the promotion of the
ideology of Pan-Africanism has been a central aspect of South African government foreign
policy since 1999 as a way to promote peace, stability and integration within the nation and,
more broadly, in the whole continent.

President Mbeki was able to convince the FIFA’s authorities to host the World Cup, and was
therefore permeated with the spirit of pan-Africanism and South Africanism and stressed the
necessity to synergize the two.As he wrote, by organizing such event his intent was to “send
waves” of confidence all over the African continent and about the necessity of recreating
“Africa’s revival” and South Africa’s desire to promote the African Renaissance. As a result,
deliberate efforts were made to merge pan-Africanism with South African nationalism in order to
produce a consolidated hallmark of the African World Cup.

Africa Diaspora and Poverty Reduction

Available evidence confirms that remittances from the Diaspora alleviate poverty in the
developing countries. According to a recent World Bank Global Development Finance Report
(2003) migrants (Diaspora) are increasingly becoming the motor for the development of their
respective countries of origin in the South. This is, however, a world-wide development which
has as yet received little policy attention. According to the World Bank report, “An under-
recognised trend in the external finances of developing countries – especially some of the
smallest and poorest – is the steadily growing importance of workers’ remittances. Such flows
now rank second in importance only to FDI [foreign direct investment] in the overall external
financing of developing countries. At $80 billion in 2002, remittances were about double the
level of official aid-related inflows and showed a remarkably steady growth through the 1990s”.
This is indeed a record amount and it is still increasing to the extent that remittances have now
become the most important source of foreign capital for the poor countries in the Third World.
This World Bank report concluded that remittances transferred by migrant labourers are often
invested in their countries of origin thereby boosting the poor economies in the domestic
markets. Therefore, in order to facilitate the increase of the remittance flows, rich countries
should make migration easier. This policy action will not only help the development and the
economic growth of the poor countries in the South but it is also beneficial for the world
economy as a whole.

In the Netherlands, Diaspora migrants last year sent home 1.4 billion euros through official
channels. This however, does not take account of the considerable sums moving outside official
channels. According to research undertaken by the African Foundation for Development, only
about 50 per cent of remittance flows through official channels (AFFORD 2000). The rest of the
remittance is transferred through non-official and informal channels.One of the most popular of
these informal channels is called “Hawalla”.

Remittance has a considerable trickle-down effect and in almost every city or town in Africa,
poor people cite remittance as one of their sources of livelihood. An important factor promoting
this trickle-down effect is the nature of the family organization in Africa. African families are
still organized around extended family networks rather than the smaller, nuclear families typical
of the West. Furthermore the sense of collective solidarity among African family members
remains strong in contrast to the emphasis on individual self-reliance characteristic of Western
society. Collective reliance encourages individual family members, wherever they may be, to
help and aid each other. And it is this tradition of mutual aid which obliges an African in the
Diaspora to send money back home to be, more or less, shared out by the members of the
extended family. Thus, in this way remittances provide direct benefits to many individuals who
are at the bottom of society in many parts in Africa. More importantly, the remittances that
African Diaspora transfer to Africa brings immediate and effective relief aid to the very poorest
in society much faster than any NGO or government sponsored programs. In short, African
Diaspora are contributing directly to the livelihood of many of Africa’s poor and thereby helping
reduce the level of absolute and abject poverty in Africa.

The Economic Community of West African states has proposed establishing a dedicated
financial instrument at a regional level to facilitate business contributions of the diaspora to the
region. Even though these proposals are focused on the diaspora outside of Africa, there are also
some initiatives for establishing an integrate approach to cross-border payment systems,
including the transfer of remittances in the Economic Community of West African states and in
the Economic Monetary Community of Central Africa. In some countries, encouraging growth of
private sector networks may be more effective than direct government involvement in
establishing links to the diasporas.

Some African governments are providing incentives to attract investment from the diasporas. For
example, as mentioned, Ethiopia grants a yellow card to diaspora members, profiting from the
same benefits and rights as domestic investors. Additional investment incentives for both foreign
investors and the diaspora include income tax exemptions for two to seven years, 100 percent
duty exemption on the import of machinery and equipment for investment projects, and 100
percent customs exemption on spare parts whose values does not exceed 15 percent of the total
value of capital goods imported.

Such policies have encouraged many in the Ethiopian diaspora to invest in small businesses in
Ethiopia. Investments at this level include those in cafes, restaurants, retail shops, and transport
services in big cities and small towns that were otherwise restricted to Ethiopian nationals living
in the country. Some countries are considering having one window at a government institution
for the Diaspora in which all the paperwork in the different administrative levels can be handled.
This could facilitate the Diaspora access to investment opportunities at home.
African Diaspora and Transnational Networks

African Diaspora in the Netherlands and elsewhere in the west promotes links and networks
between the people in the host country and in Africa. This takes place in different ways. African
Diaspora in the Netherlands establishes close contacts with Dutch natives through friendship,
schooling, work, marriage, neighborhood, etc. This contact often leads Dutch people to visit the
‘home’ countries of their African acquaintances through which they are brought into contact with
the people of Africa. This kind of physical contact gradually helps remove cultural barriers
among the people both here and in Africa. It also helps people on both sides get to know each
other’s cultures, habits and ways of life.

Moreover, this kind of human contacts helps people relate to each other more closely than
before. The contacts mediated by the African Diaspora are mostly informal and cement durable
social ties between the people in the Netherlands, the entire Europe and those in Africa. The
informal contacts mainly develop through family relations, religious community groups and the
support of voluntary self-help projects and schemes among others.

Furthermore, the interaction helps widen the horizons and world views of people on both sides. It
also helps re-enforce international solidarity between people on both sides of the world. Further,
such interaction increases knowledge and understanding among the people in the Netherlands
and in Africa about themselves and the world in which they live.

This is mutually enriching: the contact brings Africa closer to the European people and also
increases their interest in African development. Currently this cultural contact is developing
gradually but it is intensifying and is becoming more concrete in certain aspects. For example,
the contact is creating groups of communities across racial, cultural and political and thus
shaping current Africa’s international relations with the west.

African Diaspora and International Efforts

Internationally, African Diaspora plays a significant role behind the scenes. For example,

African Diaspora use transitional voluntary social networks in the Netherlands and other host
countries in the west to contribute to international efforts which impact positively on their
respective homelands in terms of political, economic, civil society and human rights issues.
They do this by effectively participating and also playing active roles in diverse civil society
activities. These activities have political, developmental and human rights objectives.

Politically, African Diaspora, through the Dutch and other western civil society organizations to
which they are linked plays a role as pressure groups to influence the political developments in
their respective African homelands. According to Sola Akinrinada and Remi Ajibewa, “the
recent experiences of Nigeria, Ghana and other states in West Africa, with large migrant
communities that constitute the new African Diaspora particularly in Western countries, confirm
that migrant networks indeed constitute significant policy challenges to home states.

A significant development is the emergence of online (internet) forums that linked various West
Africa migrant networks into organised discussion and action groups”. African Diaspora
promotes and demand democratic and well-functioning public institutions that are accountable to
the people, transparent, and respect the freedom of expression and protest .They are therefore
demanding a radical political change that is now profoundly reshaping the political thinking and
expectations of the people on the continent. Additionally, African Diaspora tend to make Africa
countries fit in the new democratic international community, hence promoting Africa’s
acceptability by the entire international community. This promotes Africa’s international
relations today.

African Diaspora and Strategic Position

In this globalizing world, African Diaspora is strategically placed to build social, economic and
political bridges through transnational networks. Some are already using this newly acquired
strategic position to enhance their profile in both worlds – the global South and the Global

North. However, for an African Diaspora group to benefit that strategic capacity depends on two
factors. One factor is the degree of integration of the Diaspora group within the host society; and
the other is their existence as a conscious and a dedicated welfare organization.

Unfortunately, for various reasons, some African groups in the west still lack those key
determining factors. Nonetheless, there are others that have overcome these barriers. A good
example to be noted here is the Ghanaian Diaspora in the Netherlands.
Ghanaians are generally well-integrated within Dutch society and have succeeded in setting up a
well-established and very effective community organization. This organization is called Sikaman
which in Twi Ghanaian means a Land of Gold. Sikaman is a non-profit networking foundation
which was established in June 1988. Sikaman is a broad-based, countrywide support foundation
for all the Ghanaians in this country as well as the ethnic, regional and village-based smaller
organization that they have established. Sikaman was initially established to cater for the needs
and help tackle the common adjustment problems faced by new Ghanaian migrants in the
unfamiliar social environment of the new homeland. Initially, Sikaman’s primary tasks
comprised providing information to the newcomers, helping them find accommodation and jobs
and also guiding them through the cultural shocks they encountered in the new society. Thus, the
main focus of the Sikaman foundation was to help improve the social position of the Ghanaian
community in the Netherlands. As time went on, however, the activities of Sikaman widened.
Now, some of its activities are geared to facilitating initiatives that link Holland with Ghana in
several development sectors at different levels. All these linkages promote Africa’s international
relations today.

African Diaspora and their Valuable Assets

The African Diaspora communities and their respective organizations in the Netherlands and
elsewhere in the West have the advantage of benefiting from different sources for their activities.
First of all, they benefit from the group identity around which they are organised. For instance,
most of the African self-help groups organize through ethnicity, geography (hometown
associations), religious associations, welfare/refugee associations, etc. Secondly, they gain
valuable knowledge, experience and innovative practices from the institutions of the new
homeland. Thirdly, they benefit from combining their well-developed informal social capacities
and skills with the formal institutions of the host society. Finally, they benefit from the networks
of the broader global transnational community to which they are linked in a variety of ways. All
these valuable assets make the African Diaspora an indispensable human agency that channels
wealth, innovative ideas, intellectual capacities and skills and creative business practices from
the rich to the poor world. Fortunately this is an aspect which is recognised in the new Africa
policy report recently produced by the Dutch Ministry of Development and which the ministry
has committed itself to stimulate and support. this means that African diaspora helps Africa
countries attract investments from abroad, thus strengthening current Africa’s international
relations

African diaspora and Private Business in Africa

African Diaspora promotes overseas business enterprise with their native homes in Africa.

They undertake this activity by setting up their own enterprises in their respective countries or by
collaborating with local businessmen. In the Netherlands, some African Diaspora has entered
into collaborations with Dutch businessmen and enterprises. The aim of these collaborations is to
set up joint ventures in Africa. Others play a mediatory or intermediating role by linking Dutch
companies with companies in their homelands. In doing so, they help facilitate the transfer of
finance and technical know-how from Holland to the local enterprises. The African Diaspora
thus engages in three activities which promote business enterprises in their respective countries
in Africa. This is of vital importance as most Africans in Africa now engage in informal trade for
their livelihood. This is due to the shrinkage or collapse of the formal national economies in
many countries in Africa. For example, the informal trade is now the biggest market economy in
Africa currently generating more than 60% of domestic wealth. Three reasons for the Dutch-
based African Diaspora’s involvement in business activities both here and in Africa can be
noted. The first is that many African Diasporas have difficulties in finding meaningful
employment in the host country. This reality forces them to engage in small scale business
activities both in the Netherlands and their respective countries in Africa. This activity can take
several forms, for example opening grocery and clothing shops or restaurants in the Netherlands
or exporting essential goods such as electronic equipment to Africa. The second reason is that
some African Diaspora has gained a position where they have accumulated a lot of business
knowledge and networks in the Netherlands that they wish to make available to Africa. By doing
this, African diaspora elevates Africa’s international through business investment

African Diaspora and Overseas Trade

Although African Diaspora generously invests their financial remittances in the local economies
of their respective countries in Africa, these efforts remain small in scale because of the limited
capital and the professional practices involved. Of course, the inflow of financial capital helps to
boost the local trade but its impact will be limited at least in the short run.
Therefore, the most valuable role that African Diaspora and their organizations in the
Netherlands and the entire Europe can play to promote overseas trade with Africa is to set up
joint ventures between established Dutch companies and companies in Africa.

Fortunately, this is just what some of the organizations interviewed in this study are doing.

Sikaman, the Ghanaian organization discussed above, for example aims to mediate links, form
contacts and provide advice to Dutch enterprises that wish to invest in and establish businesses in
Ghana. Sikaman also liaises and facilitates joint ventures between Dutch and

Ghanaian business entrepreneurs. For example, Sikaman succeeded in persuading Socar, a

Dutch second hand Car Company based in Lelystad, Flevoland to invest in Ghana.

Thereafter, Socar decided to export cars to Ghana. The business collaboration was successful and
Socar continued the trade with Ghana despite the fact that many Ghanaians lack the foreign
currency necessary to facilitate financial transactions. The problem however was solved in an
innovative way. The Socar Company accepted a barter trade agreement with their Ghanaian
business partners and cars for pineapples became the basis of the exchange. Now Socar exports
pineapples from Ghana to the Dutch market and in this way recovers its money. More
importantly, both parties in this barter trade benefit from the deal. this is apparently facilitated by
African diaspora overseas hence cementing African international relations with overseas
community.

Human Development

To date, the interest of African governments in their diasporas has focused largely on those
residing in countries outside Africa, such as the OECD[xvii] countries. Conferences and
investment seminars, either at home or in the major capitals in OECD countries, are targeted to
the Diaspora outside Africa.

Some developing countries are using dual citizenship to deepen ties with the Diaspora.
Citizenship and residency rights are important determinants of a diaspora’s participation in trade,
investment, and technology transfer with its origin country. Interest has also increased in
providing dual citizenship to the children or grandchildren of migrants, in order to encourage
their ties to the communities of their origins. But the potential gains for origin countries are
limited because dual citizenship is not permitted in many destination countries.

Rwandan TOKEN program in 2005-07 is an example of a contribution made to human

development. It involved visits by 47 volunteers to teach and provide technical assistance. The
average stay was of less than two months and the variety of responsibilities constrained the
transfer of knowledge to counterparts in host institutions.

Furthermore, there have been some proposals to take a more harmonized and integrated approach
to the Diaspora within each regional economic community. For example, there is a proposal for
the creation of a regional diaspora office within East African community.

It may be better to provide efficient procedures for all investors, without requiring proof of the
investor’s origin and nationality. However, origin countries could still benefit from focusing their
scarce resources on providing services to members of the Diaspora and on moving beyond
consular services to a broader range of support for investors. Governments can also mobilize
resources from Diasporas by encouraging their participation in social security, housing, and
microfinance programs.

Peace-building

Peace Building can be a difficult topic for Diasporas due to the high level of political concern. In
some cases the Diasporas do not wish to engage in this open combat because of its sensitivity,
both in the country of origin and the country where it is located. Diasporas have to be seen as a
part of an ongoing reconfiguration of power and authority at all levels and each state has to be
studied separately because of their differences with their formation, thus, having a different
process of adaption. Due to the differences between Nations, Diasporas, regardless of operating
at a local, national or global level, should engage in different manners taking into account the
historical relationship of these Diasporas with the African states.  These organizations and its
activity have been rising thanks to the crisis of states and the progress of neoliberalism.

According to the OECD (2009), diaspora knowledge flows could increase if barriers to short-
term and circular mobility were removed. There has been an increase in mobility partnership
pacts between European Union countries and Diasporas’ origin countries. For example, an
agreement with Cape Verde focuses on visa and border-control policies, while India has initiated
discussions with the European Union focusing on the export of high-skilled professionals. But
more data and research are required to develop effective policies to encourage circular migration.
These initiatives have taken various forms, ranging from the creation of dedicated ministries to
deal with migrant communities to adding specific functions to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Trade, Ministry of Social Affairs, Ministry
of Youth, and so on.

Government institutions abroad, especially embassies and consulates, can play a key role in
reaching out to the diaspora. They can help facilitate diaspora networks through the Internet,
professional associations, embassies abroad, and cultural events. Some origin countries are
supporting long-term and long-distance linkages between emigrants and their countries of origin.

Democracy

Holding dual or multiple citizenship provides an important link between Diasporas and their
home countries. This can improve both a Diaspora’s connection with its origin country and its
integration into the destination country. Citizenship and residency rights also make it easier to
travel and own land. About half of the African countries with available information allow dual
citizenship. Origin countries can strengthen Diaspora ties by allowing their citizens who reside
abroad to vote without returning. African countries have different modalities for voting. Some
countries allow their citizens to vote abroad for presidential and legislative elections. Some
countries give nationals abroad voting rights, and some reserve specific number of seats in
parliament for Diaspora representatives. African countries have different modalities for voting.

In addition, some African countries that confer voting rights on their Diasporas, require
advanced registration or allow voting in person only. In other countries, voting by postal ballot is
also possible. Those who permanently live abroad can register with an embassy or consulate in
the country of their permanent residence and can vote there. But the costs involved in registration
may be high. For example, South Africa approved voting rights for Global South Africans in
2009, but was unable to register voters in most foreign countries for the 2009 elections. Only
some 16,000 voters (out of the estimated 1.2 million South African citizens living abroad) who
had been registered well in advance were able to participate in the 2009 elections.

Similarly, members of the Nigerian Diaspora requested the Independent National Electoral
Commission to register Nigerians abroad so they could participate in the 2011 elections. Rwanda
provides a useful example of an effort to engage the Diaspora through reaching out and
encouraging voting by foreign citizens. Some governments have established institutions such as
councils or decentralized entities that handle migrant community issues. However, several of
these initiatives have not maintained their momentum or have been discontinued with a change
of government.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the African Diaspora within Africa is not to be ignored, as over half of the African
migrants circulate within the continent. If there are differences in nature between the diaspora
outside of the continent, mostly in the northern hemisphere, and the diaspora within Africa, both
contribute greatly to the development of their countries of origin and destination. As of today
however, the African Diaspora within Africa has not been targeted specifically by policy
initiatives of the African Union that focused only on diaspora that comes from outside the
continent. There is great need for African continent to deepen its engagement and partnerships
with the African Diaspora in order to leverage and harness their skills and expertise for the
continent’s development. There is need to recognizes the importance of harnessing the diverse
skills, expertise and potential of Africans living abroad, and facilitating their integration into the
national development agenda of their home countries and the continents as well.

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