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Herald Reporters
THE Zimbabwe National Army will never compromise its constitutional mandate of safeguarding the sovereignty of the country, a senior army officer has said. Speaking at the handover/ takeover ceremony held at 1 Field Regiment, Zimbabwe Artillery, in Domboshava, Commander Artillery Brigade Brigadier-General Stanley Mangena – who was the chief witness of the ceremony – said despite the economic challenges the country was facing ZNA would always fulfil its duties.

“As members of the Zimbabwe National Army, which constitutes part of the security forces, we should always remember that we have a mandate of safeguarding the sovereignty of our beloved country, Zimbabwe.

“This duty is only attainable if we abide by the rules and regulations that govern our conduct and behaviour as soldiers, as enshrined in the Constitution of Zimbabwe,” said Brig-Gen Mangena.

Brig-Gen Mangena said in order to fulfil its constitutional mandate, the ZNA will devote all available resources to develop its military capabilities.

Appointed as commanding officer of 1 Field Regiment, Zimbabwe Artillery, was Lieutenant-Colonel Isaiah Chitungo.

This followed the reassignment of Lt-Colonel Lamond Stanford Ndlovu.

The ceremony was held in line with the provisions of Section 10 of the Defence Act Chapter 11:02.

Brig-Gen Mangena said: “To lead a close support regiment in the Zimbabwe Artillery requires someone with an ability to see all challenges as surmountable; the ZNA commander, Lt-Gen Phillip Valerio Sibanda, has seen you fit to command such an indispensable regiment in the ZNA as far as the country’s security is concerned.”

In his acceptance speech, Lt-Col Chitungo – who was among 37 senior officers recently promoted by President Mugabe – pledged to unify the soldiers.

“As I accept this higher responsibility of command and control, I feel greatly honoured to be the 14th commanding officer of this close support regiment Zimbabwe Artillery Brigade. I am quite confident that no challenge will be insurmountable.

“I shall always be seized with ensuring that we stick to the tenets that make us remain ready to provide close artillery fire support in response to the operational commander’s plan,” said Lt-Col Chitungo.

The outgoing commanding officer Lt-Col Ndlovu said he was happy to hand over a fully trained regiment to Lt-Col Chitungo.

“I am happy to hand over such a well-trained regiment to Lt-Col Chitungo and believe that he shall maintain, or go beyond the set standards,” said Lt-Col Ndlovu.