#mugabe ‘is idolised by entire Africa’

via Mugabe ‘is idolised by entire Africa’ | News24 2014-03-18 by Betha Madhomu

Robert Mugabe is a leader “who virtually every Zimbabwean is fond of” and is “idolised by the entire African continent”, Zanu-PF deputy director of information, Psychology Maziwisa has said.

Maziwisa said this, as Zimbabwe, through the recently launched Zimbabwe Global Initiative (ZGI), seeks to “re-write” the country’s “story”, which Zanu-PF claims has been distorted by its enemies.

“Our view is that the real Zimbabwean story needs to be told and we believe that if that is done well- in a concerted way… Zimbabwe will be seen in the best possible light in a couple of years if not months,” Maziwisa told News24.

Maziwisa, who is the executive chairperson of the initiative,said the Zimbabwean story had been “deliberately” distorted by America, Britain and their allies in order to suit their “vested economic and political interests in Zimbabwe”.

Sanctions

“The perception has been created that we are a country at war, that there is a civil war of sorts here- that there are rampant-unimaginable human rights abuses here, that we are a dictatorship, that the moment an investor arrives in Zimbabwe every bit of their investment will be expropriated by Mugabe…And as a result of this negative image- our prospects as a nation have suffered,” he said

This comes as Zimbabwe continues to suffer under sanctions that were imposed against Harare over a decade ago.

The EU last month lifted most of the sanctions, although those of Mugabe and his wife Grace remained in place.

Restrictions against the State-owned Zimbabwe Defence Industries (ZDI) also remain.

“It doesn’t please us at all that a person whom we see as our hero, a leader who virtually every Zimbabwean is so fond of and who is idolized by the entire African continent is portrayed in such a negative and derogatory way,” said Maziwisa.

Business opportunities 

Maziwisa said the ZGI would see him and his team taking the Zimbabwe story to South Africa in April, the US in May, the UK in June and Australia in July.

“During these visits we will also be able to discuss business opportunities in Zimbabwe and to dispel some of the myths around our empowerment policies which, again, we feel have deliberately been misconstrued”, he said.

Maziwisa said the aim was to make sure that the world interacted with Zimbabwe on “an equal footing”.