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President Mugabe, who is the Head of State and Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, and ZDF Commander General Constantine Chiwenga at Zimbabwe Defence Forces Day celebrations at the National Sports Stadium in Harare yesterday. — (Picture by John Manzongo).

Lloyd Gumbo Senior Reporter
President Mugabe has hailed the role played by the Zimbabwe Defence Forces in the socio-economic development of the country by providing a peaceful environment.

The Head of State and Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces made the remarks while addressing tens of thousands of Zimbabweans and foreign dignitaries who gathered at the National Sports Stadium in Harare for the Defence Forces’ 35th anniversary celebrations.

He said the commemorations allowed Zimbabweans to reflect and celebrate the key role played by the armed forces since the attainment of independence in 1980.

He said while there had been attempts in some quarters to weaken the ZDF, they had remained resolute and ensured the country enjoyed peace and stability.

“The Zimbabwe Defence Forces are instrumental in our country’s quest for socio-economic development, as they do so by guaranteeing us peace and stability.

“It is therefore befitting that this year’s Zimbabwe Defence Forces Day commemorations are held under the theme: ‘ZDF: Consistent in Defence of National Sovereignty, Social and Economic Development’.

“Apart from successfully fulfilling their primary mandate, the Defence Forces have a long history of assisting Government ministries and departments, local authorities, and needy communities.”

He said in the past rainy season, the ZDF had complemented the Civil Protection Unit by providing equipment and personnel to rescue villagers who were marooned by floods in Mashonaland Central and in monitoring other areas.

President Mugabe said the ZDF also had a community assistance programme that helped members of society, particularly the vulnerable.

“Under this programme, several communities have benefited from ZDF’s construction and refurbishment of public facilities such as schools, clinics and roads,” the President said.

“Currently, the Defence Forces are constructing a clinic at Chingwizi, which is targeted at benefiting the communities affected by floods at the Tokwe-Mukosi Basin in Masvingo.

“The Defence Forces are also constructing a secondary school and a clinic at Marongwe in Mashonaland Central, a project which is a follow up to the completion of a primary school at the same place,” he said.

“The Forces are also constructing an Early Childhood Development (ECD) complex at Nyadire Teacher’s College, and four classrooms at Mapani Primary School in Chakari, Mashonaland West.”

President Mugabe said the ZDF had also raised the Zimbabwean flag high on regional and international fronts where they contributed to international peace and stability.

President Mugabe said the ZDF had executed numerous external missions, among them the Mozambique campaign in the 1980s and operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia and Rwanda in the 1990s to early 2000.

“Recently, the Zimbabwe Defence Forces were successful when deployed in the Kingdom of Lesotho as an observer mission, following internal disturbances in that country.

“Regionally, the Zimbabwe Defence Forces are enjoying excellent relations with their counterparts. This is strongly evidenced by their participation in joint training exercises and student exchange programmes,” the Head of State said.

“While Zimbabwe Defence Forces are part of the Sadc Standby Force, they have participated in peace support operations exercises, which include the Golfinho in South Africa (2009), Exercise Hinglander in Lesotho and Exercise Ningosile in 2012, Exercise Vale De Keve in Angola in 2013 and most recently, Exercise Nyaminyami that was hosted by Zimbabwe in 2014,” said President Mugabe.

He said plans were also at an advanced stage to host a joint Sadc Special Forces in Kariba from this month to next month.

President Mugabe, who is also the Sadc chairperson, said the ZDF was expected to be joined by other armed forces in the region at Exercise Amani Africa in South Africa before the end of the year.

He said as part of efforts to enhance mutual cooperation, interaction and exchange of military expertise, the ZDF engaged in military student exchange programmes with other defence forces in the region and beyond.

The President, who is also Chancellor of all State universities, said while the National Defence College had been operating as an associate of the University of Zimbabwe, plans were at an advanced stage to transform it into a fully-fledged university before the end of the year.

President Mugabe commended the unity that has characterised the ZDF since the integration of Zipra and Zanla armed forces on the one side and the Rhodesian Forces on the other soon after independence.

He said the ZDF had grown into a reputable and reliable armed force able to safeguard the country’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

He thanked the country’s all-weather friends like Pakistan for assisting in the transformation process.

Pakistan Vice Chief of the Airforce, Air Marshal Saeed Muhammad Khan as well as Angola’s Deputy Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces, General Antonio Egidio de Sousa Santos, attended the celebrations.

President Mugabe said the visit by Air Marshal Khan was testimony to the strong bilateral relations between Zimbabwe and Pakistan particularly in the area of defence and security.

“Upon request, during the period of 1983 to 1986, Pakistan seconded Air Chief Marshal Azim Daudpota to head the Air Force of Zimbabwe.

“Currently we have military officers from Pakistan at the National Defence College and Thornhill Airbase assisting us with training expertise while a number of our personnel have benefited from training slots offered to us at military training institutions in Pakistan,” said President Mugabe.

President Mugabe said he wanted the people of Zimbabwe and the ZDF to continue to work together peacefully and amicably in a stable country that was focused on socio-economic development.

He said Zim-Asset was currently the major focus for the country.