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Lovemore Chikova in JOHANNESBURG, South Africa

Zanu PF Secretary for Information and Publicity Ambassador Christopher Mutsvangwa has thanked BRICS countries for standing with Zimbabwe to avoid chaos caused by western countries in other parts of the world.

Ambassador Mutsvangwa was speaking while addressing the 6^th BRICS Media Forum in Johannesburg, South Africa, today.

The forum was attended by media practitioners from the countries that form BRICS – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – and several of their colleagues from various African countries.

The forum comes ahead of the 15^th BRICS Summit which starts in Johannesburg on Tuesday.

“I went to Beijing as Ambassador in 2002,” he said. “Zimbabwe was under grave geopolitical attack. We developed, as a counter alternative, the Look East Policy for alternative capital. That was my assignment when I went to Beijing.

“I am happy to say that experience was an eye opener. I saw in China the application of capital changing people’s lives. And we said if China can make it so dramatically in such a small period of time, Africa will also make it. That experience in China gave me confidence that Zimbabwe and Africa will make it.”

He said the stance of nations that are in BRICS saved Zimbabwe from the fate that befell Sadam’s Iraq, Gaddafi’s Libya, and Afghanistan, among others.

“I salute Pretoria, Tshwane, Moscow and Beijing for the 2008 United Nations Security Council veto on Comprehensive Sanctions against Zimbabwe,” he said.

Ambassador Mutsvangwa assured BRICS nations that President Mnangagwa and Zanu PF will romp to victory in the harmonised elections on Wednesday next week.

“We are here even as we are in the final lap of our elections, all because we put premium to the work of the mirror as the image of BRICS at work,” he said.

“I want to assure you that because of what President ED Mnangagwa has done, he is growing a middle class, a genuine world middle class, we aligned our land with people, we aligned our gold, our mineral resources with the people, our agriculture resources we aligned with our people, we can create a middle class.

“Come Wednesday, President ED Mnangagwa will win. It will shame those who say democracy was created in the West.”

Ambassador Mutsvangwa said the diplomatic and political cover by BRICS countries helped Zimbabwe “overcome diabolical illegal sanctions for over two decades”.

He said due to such efforts, Zimbabwe was now poised to become Africa’s fastest growing economy.

“We have an influx of world class entrepreneurs from the BRICS fraternity pouring investment into our resource rich nation,” said Ambassador Mutsvangwa. “We are going to be completing with Russia and Turkey in production of steel. We are offering world class resources to world capital.

“If you want to have a country of opportunity today start with Zimbabwe.

Don’t be fooled by BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera. We have restored gold back to the young people. Production jumped from five tonnes in 2008 to 30 tonnes today. What China and Russia are doing to get away from the Petro dollar, we do it with gold. We dig money in Zimbabwe. Our US dollar in Zimbabwe is earned by Zimbabweans. The future of Zimbabwe is very exciting.”

Ambassador Mutsvangwa said of note among these investments were the steel blast furnaces, coke oven batteries and ferrochrome furnaces for a Carbon Steel Ecosystem at Manhize, set for commissioning soon.

“There are huge lithium processing plants for New Energy Electric Vehicles,” said Ambassador Mutsvangwa. “More work is witnessed in requisite energy generation and transmission. Water storage, pipe systems, building of a new port in nearby Beira, the second city of Mozambique, railway, road and accompanying logistics are the hallmark of the beckoning transformation for Zimbabwe.”

Zimbabwe did not only offer an educated population to the world, it also offered resources, being the fourth diamond endowed country, second with platinum, third with ferrochrome and fifth with lithium.

Africa, Ambassador Mutsvangwa said, with its youthful and growing population of 1,2 billion was suddenly in the glowing limelight of international attention.

He said the continent had to render gratitude to the economic resurgence of the BRICS and other emergent economies.

Ambassador Mutsvangwa said by bringing BRICS media and other media from Africa together, Xinhua News Agency from China, which organised the BRICS Media Forum, was charting a new future for developing countries.

He said there was need for closer cooperation and tighter coordination among the populous Global South to properly position itself to seize opportunities as they arise.

Ambassador Mutsvangwa said BRICS was offering new, exciting and affordable markets for goods and services and new sources of capital, doing away with regimented imperialist dictates to economic development.

He said BRICS had advanced, and even leapfrogging, technologies that promoted information and financial inclusivity in a global village.

“It is all known that all human beings in general and women in particular like the imaging device called a mirror,” he said. “The mirror reflects our images, it props up self-esteem and inspires self-confidence.

“I find this analogy quite exact in describing our current developmental initiatives and the role of the press.”

The BRICS Media Forum was launched in 2015 at the initiative of Xinhua News Agency of China in partnership with leading media outlets in Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa.

Over the past eight years, the BRICS media have made full use of this platform to promote exchanges, mutual learning, practical cooperation and common development.