BRICS Bank haunting Zuma
FORMER president Jacob Zuma claims he is being persecuted because he introduced the idea of a BRICS Bank in order to liberate poor countries from the World Bank.
Delivering a memorial lecture in honour of late former Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe in Newcastle, Zuma told hundreds of ANC supporters that even though he helped South Africa to join BRICS, the current administration under his successor, Cyril Ramaphosa, was not active in this international body.
“After joining BRICS I came up with the idea that it should have its own bank, because poor countries were getting into more and more financial trouble by borrowing from the World Bank.
“Indeed, the BRICS bank was formed. I believe the trouble I am facing now – as I have been persecuted for a long time – was because these Western countries established who came up with the idea,” he said.
Zuma said although BRICS was made up of only five countries, it was powerful enough to drive its economy because the member bloc countries comprised half the world’s population.
“These countries are the big economies in their own regions, and are strategic. One of these countries, China, is number two in the world economy,” he said.
He said that BRICS would in the near future determine the world economy, as two of the BRICS members have veto power in the UN Security Council.
“This group of five have veto (powers), therefore we can veto anything in the world, and that is what I (had) discussed with President Mugabe.”
He said he and Mugabe had also agreed while he was still alive that the liberation movement had made serious mistakes by focusing on political liberation and forgetting economic freedom.
“We had discussed that former liberation parties should meet again to discuss how we could continue with the struggle for economic (emancipation). This struggle does not need war, but we can use our majority in various countries.”
Zuma claimed that Mugabe was hated because he had touched a nerve of capitalists by questioning the issue of land.
“Whenever you talk about the issue of the land, there are those clever people who would look at you as if you are stupid. If I had continued as the president, (in a) few more months I was going to take drastic action to reclaim the economy for the blacks,” he said.
Meanwhile, young ANC supporters who attended the lecture pledged to respect Mugabe by preaching unity among African people and fighting for an end to violence against foreigners.
Siyabonga Mbokazi, of Cosas, said in respect of Mugabe, South Africans should embrace foreign nationals from across the continent.
Mbokazi said as a human being, Mugabe made mistakes which his successor Emmerson Mnangagwa and those who will follow him could still correct.