Zimbabwe is Africa's second most developed country - Mugabe

Zimbabwe’s president Robert Mugabe was the point of focus on Thursday at the ongoing World Economic Forum on Africa in Durban, South Africa.

During a plenary session, the sickly-looking leader denied that his country was in a fragile state.

“You don’t talk of us as a fragile state from an economic point of view. Yes we have our problems but no certainly we have achieved… we have our resources, perhaps more resources than the average country in the world.”

He went on to add that the southern Africa country is one of the most developed countries in the continent. “Zimbabwe is not a fragile state, it is one of the most highly developed countries, second after South Africa,” he said.

The 93-year old leader has been criticized for wrecking one of Africa’s most promising economies, causing unemployment to soar to 80 percent, a debt-ridden government and a persistent cash crunch which has drawn growing resistance to his three-decade rule.

Despite the protests, Mugabe is due to lead his ZANU-PF party as its candidate for the next presidential election expected in mid-2018, when he will be 94.