Farai Dziva|Emmerson Mnangagwa has blamed western countries for “engineering economic hardships in the country.”

Below is an article published by a state run publication -in which – Mnangagwa vowed to block “western detractors” from plundering Zimbabwe’s natural resources:

Zimbabwe is being punished in various ways, including the imposition of sanctions by its Western detractors, for having a huge mineral resource base, President Mnangagwa has said.

The President said this while addressing delegates at the inaugural Artisanal and Small-Scale Miners Conference organised by the Zimbabwe Miners’ Federation (ZMF) in Gweru.

He said the current economic hardships were engineered by Western detractors keen on exploiting the over 40 different minerals in the country.

“This country, which is between Zambezi and Limpopo rivers, is so blessed. We are rich in minerals; we have a number of minerals including rare earth minerals,” he said.

“Only China is the second country to have rare earth minerals. But being rich in these minerals is the reason why we are in serious trouble with our detractors.”State media