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Lt-Gen Sibanda

Farirai Machivenyika Senior Reporter
Zimbabwe National Army Commander Lieutenant General Philip Valerio Sibanda has urged the Zimbabwe National Defence University (ZNDU) to take the lead in crafting indigenous policies that enhance national security and development.

Lt-Gen Sibanda said this while officiating at a two-day seminar on article writing for the ZNDU journal conducted at the university last week.

“As command element, we remain of the conviction that this institution, like others of its nature the world over, should be the torch bearer, not only in seeking academic excellence, but in crafting indigenous policies and strategies to enhance Zimbabwe’s national security and development,” he said.

“Let me highlight that Zimbabwe is endowed with a lot of natural resources and an educated human resource base to develop them. What is now needed is for us to aggressively embrace science and technology at institutions such as this one, as the basis for developing our country.”

Lt-Gen Sibanda urged participants to the seminar to sharpen their skills and improve their academic prowess and intellect as members of the defence forces.

He said the ZNDU was structured in a different way from other institutions of higher learning.

“This was as a result of lessons we drew from other NDUs elsewhere in the world, taking cognizance of the fact that threats to national security are increasingly becoming diverse and are no longer restricted to the military, but include economic, diplomatic, information, environmental and technological aspects at both the national and international levels and, therefore, demands a collaborative response and approach,” he said.

Lt-Gen Sibanda said ZNDU was a multi-disciplinary institution with several centres of excellence that included the pedagogy centre, the affiliate and associate centre, the centre for sports and physical fitness, the conflict records research centre and the institute for strategic research and analysis.

The seminar was conducted by University of Zimbabwe academics, Professors Ezra Chitando and Charity Manyeruke.