New constitution must allow dual nationality

We have been hearing a lot about the controversy surrounding the constitution-making process in Zimbabwe; that Lovemore Madhuku and the NCA want to be in charge of the process; that Robert Mugabe and his ZANU-PF want to stick to the so-called Kariba compact and that the MDC formations seem ready to compromise one way or the other. Not surprisingly, the formations do not seem to have strong opinions about a whole lot of things these days, except, perhaps, their desire to hold on to the peripheral and frugal margins of political power in the hope that they are on the right side of history.What we do not hear much about is what should be in that constitution. I am not suggesting that the process of bringing about a new constitution is not critical to the outcome; no doubt a constitution making process driven by ruling coalition politicians will result in a constitution that takes care of the interests of politicians at the expense of common sense, let alone the long term interests of peasants, workers and other disadvantaged groups.However, since there is not a whole lot of time to come up with a new constitution, and given that the dueling over the process is likely to dominate the conversation over the next few months, those of us who care as much about the content of the document as we do about the process of putting it together, should now begin to think more specifically about we would like to see in the final product.I am told that the current constitution does not allow for dual citizenship. I do not know the thinking behind this prohibition. If I were to guess, I would have to say that it was probably a decision targeted at those who were fleeing from black majority rule and who may have been in a position to use dual nationality to sabotage the new order. We are facing an entirely different set of circumstances this time and we ought to seriously consider allowing the issue of dual nationality in a calm and rational manner. Unfortunately, some of the current crop of politicians may not be equipped for such a thoughtful approach.One of the potential benefits of the current economically induced dispersion is that there are hundreds of thousands of Zimbabwean children born or bred abroad. There also are thousands of Zimbabweans who have become permanent residents of other countries, enjoying the benefits that accrue with such status. In a sense, some of these people will naturally have a dual allegiance to the country of their birth and the country of their (or their parents') origin.It may be that many of them will be able to quickly decide on their citizenship. Have no doubt though, that there will be many who will be torn between two or more countries. I submit that these children and their parents should have the opportunity to choose dual citizenship.Over the past few months, we have heard calls for Zimbabweans to return home to rebuild the country. I do not expect to see large-scale movement on this front until some of the concerns of those in the Diaspora about what this would mean for their family circumstances and with regards to some of the benefits they may have earned while living abroad.Obviously, if one has spent the best days of one's life in another country, one has probably earned some benefits that one would not want to forgo. Besides, not all members of the same family may decide to stay or leave, but they should have the assurance that they do not have to choose between their family and their country. If it is true that Zimbabwe needs these people more than they need her, then we ought to be flexible about how we help them to make what may be a very difficult decision.Even if such dual nationality were accompanied by certain minimum conditions and restrictions, it just seems to me that it ought to be an option. I suspect that Zimbabwe would be the chief beneficiary of such an arrangement because many people in the Diaspora are likely to have received a decent education and would have cultural and language skills that enable them to function effectively in a globalizing world. It would be a tragedy to tell these people that either they are with us or against us!Is it possible to make a reasonable case against dual nationality? I suspect so. Many countries have dual citizenship and we should be able to learn from some of their experiences. At a minimum, the constitution-making body should study this matter. I realize that there may be a nativist and visceral opposition to dual citizenship. Others equate it to "trying to have the best of both worlds". The least that we could do is to fail to even debate the desirability or otherwise of such a provision.But then again, I may be preaching to the converted!