´We need Clarity over BRICS from Govt of Zambia´
…says Amb. Anthony Mukwita
1st Sept. 2023
Amb. Anthony Mukwita, an international relations pundit, and published author has challenged Zambian journalists to ask ´uncomfortable questions´ on whether Zambia under President Hakainde Hichilema has applied for membership under the rising BRICS club in an interview televised on KBNtv.
“We are happy that President Hichilema represented us well as a country at the BRICS heads of state summit now BRICS+Six,” Ambassador Mukwita said, “what we need now is clarity from the government, our journalists should ask uncomfortable questions now on whether Zambia has applied to become a member of the growing political economic group or not.”
Ambassador Mukwita, an international relations scholar, a published author and former newspaper editor in chief said Zambia would gain rather than lose by joining the fast-rising international group sooner rather than later.
“More than 60 countries have applied to join BRICS including heavy-weights such as Indonesia and the most populous nation in Africa Nigeria (more than 213mln people),” Ambassador Mukwita said, “what does Zambia lose by applying to be a member (maybe shes already applied?) because it simply gives us options for better economic deals instead of putting all our eggs in one western basket.”
Ambassador Mukwita said the holy grail of international economic and political relations is always to ´engage and talk to everyone´ instead of publicly choosing sides.
He gave an example of Chinese economic reformist leader Deng (1904-97) who opened China to the western world and business and said, “to me the colour of the cat doesn’t matter as long as it catches mice.” Its about results not western or eastern centric.
A published author of a new book entitled “China in Africa the Zambia story”, Ambassador Mukwita implored Zambia to learn from a nation like China that removed more than 100 million from poverty in under thirty years and start ´talking to everybody and not take sides. ´
During the interview Ambassador Mukwita hailed the entry of two more African countries into the BRICS+Six namely Egypt and Ethiopia that now join Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Iran in the ever-growing club of emerging markets on the globe and refuses to slow down.
“The BRICS+Six are now responsible for 40 pc of the global population and 30 pc of the globes GDP,” Ambassador Mukwita said, “I am not saying Zambia quits the 75-year-old dominance of the US led IMF and World Bank…just talk to everyone is all.”
Ambassador Mukwita also beseeched Zambians to cherish the undisrupted peace and stability Zambia has enjoyed for close to 59 years.
“The peace we continue to enjoy from independence to date must be cherished because like a broken glass it’s hard to put back once lost,” said Ambassador Mukwita.
The former envoy also questioned stark discriminatory facts such as an IMF boss is always European while a World Bank boss is forever America adding that BRICS+Six aims to cure this.
Ambassador Mukwita conversely abhorred the rise of military coups in West Africa with Gabon and Niger falling on the gun recently he said is a sign of the times that anti France dominance is fledgling due to growing poverty in their foreign colonies whose people remain trapped in abject poverty as their wealth makes the lives of former colonisers better.
The full interview is available of KVBtv channel 279 and the stations Facebook page while Ambassador Mukwita´s new book is available locally in Bookworld, Grey Matter, Amazon and Takealot.
Ambassador Mukwita concluded the interview with a clarion call to Zambian journalists to ask the Hichilema government to state their BRICS+Six position that remains elusive.
Mukwita also urged them to put up articles that must state the pros and cons of being a BRICS+Six-member nation, as well as being an IMF and World Bank member or both.
Source: KBNtv