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Farirai Machivenyika Senior Reporter
Zimbabweans should safeguard their pride and national identity to consolidate the gains of independence, President Mnangagwa has said.

He said this at the graduation of 69 officers at the Zimbabwe Staff College at Josiah Magama Tongogara Barracks (formerly KGVI) in Harare, yesterday.

The officers were drawn from the Zimbabwe National Army, the Air Force of Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Republic Police, the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services, the President’s Department and others from the Sadc bloc and Pakistan.

President Mnangagwa said before independence, colonialists used cultural dominance as a weapon to destroy African values, virtues and its people, but said it was now “imperative for us to rekindle and safeguard our national identity, heritage, pride grounded on our pan-African philosophy in order to fully consolidate our political, social and economic independence”.

He said it was unfortunate that some among the citizens had “lost their sense of national pride and look for direction” from those that did not have the interests of the majority at heart.

The President commended the Zimbabwe Staff College for its curriculum that promotes national pride.
“I commend the Zimbabwe Staff College for inculcating that, first and foremost, they are Zimbabweans, they are Africans and our future lies in our hands. Self-awareness and knowledge is indeed a strong weapon in defending our national sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence,” he said.

As part of their geo-political studies the students visited Lesotho, Mauritius and Rwanda.
President Mnangagwa said the trips were critical as they benefited the students since they broadened their understanding of political, socio-economic, cultural and civil-military relations dynamics in different parts of the continent.

“It is also pleasing to note that in the college’s quest to improve and maintain high professional and academic standards, it has partnered the UZ (University of Zimbabwe) and Chinhoyi University of Technology.

The majority among the graduates yesterday received diplomas in Defence and Security Studies from the UZ.
The President called upon other institutions of higher learning, both local and foreign, including the private sector and civil society, to partner the Zimbabwe Staff College in areas of innovation, technology, policy research and analysis upon which pragmatic and rational strategy-related security decisions can be based,” he said.

He said the Joint Command and Staff Course had equipped the graduates with the requisite skills to carry out their constitutional man- date.

In his remarks, Zimbabwe Staff College Commandant Brigadier-General Joe Muzvidziwa said their mandate was to produce patriotic military leaders.

“The mandate of the Zimbabwe Staff College is to produce versatile military leaders who are competent, patriotic and loyal. Its products are expected to defend the ethos and legacy of our hard-won independence which came from a protracted liberation struggle,” said Brig-Gen Muzvidziwa.