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Outgoing commander of the Commando Regiment Brigadier-General Francis Mutisi (right) hands over the flag to incoming commander Brigadier-General Augustine Chipwere in Harare yesterday. — (Picture by Innocent Makawa)

Nyemudzai Kakore Herald Reporter
The Zimbabwe National Army is targeting to plant more than 500 000 trees as it joins other players to counter the damaging impact of deforestation in the country. Speaking during a belated tree planting day at the KG VI Barracks in Harare on Thursday, ZNA Commander Lieutenant General Philip Valerio Sibanda said the army would plant more trees to prevent the country from becoming a desert.

“In our country, veld fires and wanton tree cutting and destruction have resulted in the destruction of large tracts of forests,” he said.

“This is a serious situation which if not corrected will impact negatively on the lives of future generations in our country.

“Come December this year we want to be able to plant 500 000 hectares of trees. I challenge (the) Forestry Commission and Tetrad to accompany us.”

The National Tree Planting Day is held on the first Saturday of December every year.

Lt Gen Sibanda planted the tree of the year known as mukweshangoma in Shona, impaca or umbambangwe in Ndebele and Bolusanthus speciosus-tree wisteria in English. The tree is fast becoming extinct.

Zimbabwe is losing an estimated 300 000 hectares of forest every year and forestry experts warn that there will be no forest to speak of in the country within the next 50 years.

“We have all heard of climate change and in the past, a lot of people thought this was something that would only affect the developed countries,” said Lt Gen Sibanda.

“The reality is that we are affected maybe even more than the developed countries.”

He said gas emissions, waste from industrial and manufacturing plants, tree logging and veld fires have damaged the environment.

Speaking at the same event, Forestry Commission extension officer Mr Duncan Chiwala urged all tobacco growers to plant trees every season.

“According to the statistics from the tobacco industry, tobacco growers have multiplied, we now have 106 451 tobacco farmers from 80 000 as from July to December last year. They should plant trees which they have used for tobacco curing,” he said.

Tetrad Tree Foundation programme director Mr Goodman Muzanenhamo said the level of deforestation in the country was alarming, before he donated 5 950 trees to Lt Gen Sibanda, who is the organisation’s patron.