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other military and security personnel in the region, Chief of the South African National Defence Forces General Solly Zacharia Shoke has said.
A Chinese company, Anhui Foreign Economic Construction Company is constructing the college that is expected to be complete in five years time. Speaking after a tour of the college yesterday, Gen
Shoke said the multi-million dollar college was one of the biggest to be built in the region.
“This project is quite impressive and people of Zimbabwe are going to benefit much out of this project. We do have a Defence College in South Africa but not of this level.
“This is state-of-the-art but since we belong to the Sadc family, we always cooperate and hope to benefit as well,” he said
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Gen Shoke said Sadc military personnel worked together to maintain regional peace and from time to time they visited each other to exchange notes. Said Gen Shoke: “As Sadc region we work together and cooperate as member states. From time to time we visit each other so this is a good visit to a neighbourly country in the region.”
Major General Nicholas Dube (chief of staff joint operation and planning) who was accompanying Gen Shoke said the college would be a learning institution for local, regional and international students.
“You recall that last year on July 16 President Mugabe came here for a ground-breaking ceremony. This college is going to be a higher institution for defence learning and other ministries,” he said.
He said there would be slots for the region and outside the region. Maj Gen Dube said the tour of the college by Gen Shoke was an exchange visit they do as a way of sharing military ideas in the region.
“Generals of our region share ideas and we share ideas by showing each other projects like this one. When we go to their countries, they also show us their projects,” he said.
Construction of the National Defence College began last year and it will initially be an affiliate of the University of Zimbabwe.
Earlier Gen Shoke had met Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa and the Zimbabwe Defence Forces Commander General Constantine Chiwenga at Defence House.
Online Reporter