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Columbus Mabika-Herald Reporter

The Air Force of Zimbabwe (AFZ), in close collaboration with sister security services, remains committed to ensure peace and stability in the country for the achievement of national interests and aspirations, the Commander of the AFZ, Air Marshal Elson Moyo, has said.

Presenting a paper on “The Strategic Role of Air Power as a Force Multiplier, Implications for the Air Force of Zimbabwe in the Vision 2030 Debate’’, to participants of the National Defence Course at the Zimbabwe National Defence University recently, Air Marshal Moyo said security services remain committed to providing a safe environment for Government policies to turn around the fortunes of Zimbabwe.

“The AFZ, in close collaboration with sister security services, is mandated with ensuring peace and stability in the country. Vision 2030 also provides for regional economic co-operation and, to that end, we form an integral part of SADC and the African Union’s security architecture,” he said. 

“Vision 2030 is therefore a plan to move the economy a notch higher through implementation of radical reforms. Peace and tranquillity are key prerequisites for the success of such a plan. This does not only apply for facilitation of domestic economic activity. 

“A peaceful and stable security environment is also key for attracting much-needed foreign capital and other forms of investment. The economic blueprint seeks to share with the international community at large, as well as domestic stakeholders, the nation’s key reform initiatives and commitments under the New Dispensation, on rebuilding and transforming Zimbabwe to become an upper middle income economy by 2030.”

Desirous to play a more dominant role in regional and global affairs, he said, the AFZ has drawn up an ambitious plan envisaged to fit into the national vision of attaining an upper middle class economy status by year 2030.

 Air Marshal Moyo said the blueprint outlines an update by giving milestones and progress attained so far, as well as the next steps towards a new Zimbabwe.

 He said the coming in of the Second Republic has created opportunities for reconstruction and economic transformation, enabling citizens to live a dignified life, taking advantage of the immense and diverse domestic resource endowments, while concurrently tapping into investment prospects from international markets. 

As part of its efforts to contribute to economic growth, Air Marshal Moyo said the AFZ was involved in agricultural activities such as cattle ranching, horticulture and maize production on farms that the organisation was allocated during the land redistribution programme.

Plans are afoot for the AFZ to venture into gold mining and the commercial production of medicinal cannabis as part of the organisation’s self-reliance initiatives and also to ease pressure on the national budget. 

 In addition to acquiring new assets, the AFZ will place greater emphasis on robust research and development in order to sustain a dominant role in the national, regional and global security matrix. 

Turning to cyber security, Air Marshal Moyo said Zimbabwe had become a target of cyber bullying by  faceless characters and rogue media organisations abusing social media platforms to post subversive material.

“A number of studies have revealed how internal and external actors have used the cyberspace as a weapon to undermine the will power of the people of Zimbabwe and in the worst cases to incite the people to make the nation ‘ungovernable’, thus posing serious threats to national security,” he said.

On climate change, Air Marshal Moyo said the recurring droughts and floods serve as an awakening call that they have become a real threat to national security. 

On terrorism, he said the security situation was relatively calm but a worrying rise in terrorist activities in the DRC and Mozambique was threatening to destabilise economic activity in the region.