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Cde Sydney Sekeramayi

Fidelis Munyoro Chief Reporter
Defence Minister Dr Sydney Sekeramayi Monday said he will continue engaging Treasury for a review of the budget allocated to the ministry to enhance the Zimbabwe Defence Forces’ conditions of service.“Budget allocations should respond to the requirements of the defence forces,” said Dr Sekeremayi, while addressing students at the Zimbabwe Staff College on the Zimbabwe Defence Policy.

He said they were engaging the relevant authorities on mechanisms to deal with the challenges facing the defence forces and its personnel.

“I want to assure you that these are some of the issues we will continue to discuss with our colleagues in Government. If we are able to get the resources we can improve the conditions of service for our members,” he said.

Dr Sekeramayi applauded the country’s new economic blueprint, the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (Zim-Asset).

He, however, explained that Zim-Asset did not include the military, police and intelligence sectors for national security reasons.
“Indeed, there was no mention of the defence and security because naturally these issues do not belong to a public document,” he said.
“The matters of defence and national security are discussed elsewhere and not for distribution to everybody who might be interested.”
Dr Sekeramayi said the National Defence Policy was tailor-made to defend Zimbabwe’s sovereignty and national interests.

“Zimbabwe’s defence also seeks to contribute meaningfully to the region’s efforts to have in place an effective common regional security system that exhibits unity of purpose in defence and security matters,” he said.

He said the defence policy also contributed to and promoted the general preservation of international peace and stability.