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Patrick Chitumba Midlands Bureau Chief
PRESIDENT Mugabe yesterday commissioned 135 regular officer cadets at the Zimbabwe Military Academy (ZMA) in Gweru. The regular officer cadet course, which commenced on September 1, 2014, had an initial enrolment of 158 with 40 of them female. Yesterday, 135 officer cadets, 35 of them female, graduated. Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa and the Minister of Defence Sydney Sekeramayi attended the ceremony.

Twenty three cadets failed to complete the course for reasons varying from medical, voluntary resignation, indiscipline or incompetence. Addressing the cadets, President Mugabe said the government would soon transform the National Defence Staff College into a full-fledged Zimbabwe National Defence University once the legislative process has been done.

“I am reliably informed that plans to have future ZMA courses graduating with degrees are at an advanced stage. The Academy will in future produce degreed officers. This is in line with the current plans to have all military schools under the National Defence College which itself will soon be transformed into a full-fledged university once the necessary legislative process has been done,” he said.

President Mugabe said the graduation ceremony made history by constituting the highest number of female cadets to graduate in a single course in the history of cadet training in Zimbabwe.

“Allow me to make a special recognition of the 35 female graduands on parade today. I am reliably informed that the 35 have made history by constituting the highest number of female cadets to graduate in a single course in the history of cadet training in Zimbabwe.

Allow me therefore to convey my special congratulations to these gallant cadres. We at the same commend the Zimbabwe Defence Forces for their implementation of the national gender policy that seeks to address gender balance issues.”

“The brief that I have received from the commandant confirms that the course provided the graduands of Regular Officer Cadet Course 3/32/14, was aimed at adequately equipping the cadets with skills and knowledge that sufficiently provide a solid base from which the officers can kick-start their military careers.”

President Mugabe said Zimbabwe and Namibia enjoyed cordial relations and the two countries have contributed immensely to the defence and security of the region and continent.

“We also note that three officers doing medical studies in China are graduating in absentia today. That among the graduands are some from Namibia speaks well of the cordial relations that exist between Zimbabwe and Namibia, the two countries which contribute immensely to the defence and security of the region and continent,” he said.

“One of the integral components of the cadet course was a civil military relations education programme that provided the cadets with the opportunity to visit the Freedom Camp Shrine in Zambia. The visit was aimed at having the cadets envision, understand and appreciate the agonizing experiences that characterized our liberation struggle. It is important for the cadets, as it is indeed for all Zimbabweans, to understand that the country’s liberation struggle remains a permanent feature of our history, a rallying point that should continue to inspire us.”

The course, President Mugabe said, was the seventh course to graduate with A Diploma in Military Training and Education, which had been acquired through ZMA’s associateship with the Midlands State University.

Meanwhile, the Commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, General Constantine Chiwenga, said there has been a steady increase in women joining the defence forces since independence.

He said women, who were the pillar of the armed struggle which saw the country attaining independence in 1980, were each year showing interest in joining the defence forces.

In an interview on the side-lines of the pass out parade, Gen Chiwenga said: “You must remember that Zimbabwe came out of a bitter and bloody armed struggle and in that struggle we had women and we fought alongside with those women, but when we came after independence, we still remained with those women we were with in the bush and also wanted to encourage more to join.”

Gen Chiwenga said the defence forces were also implementing the government’s policy on gender parity.

“We also have the government policy on gender parity. This is not only being done by the government of Zimbabwe but also the regional and continental bodies are encouraging gender parity saying what man can do, women can also do. We are encouraging more women to join the defence forces and it is quite pleasing that there is a gradual increase in terms of interest by women coming to join the armed forces. And so it was just a matter of encouraging and educating them to know that what man can do, woman can also do,” he said.