adminTraining institutions of any nature be they teachers’ colleges, nursing schools and police training depots play a crucial role in the development of human resources in communities and the country at large.
Such kind of institutions contribute to the country’s human capital, provide an important service to the people and also compel members of communities to improve their knowledge at the same time getting a source of income.
In our country, there are few areas that play host to training institutions especially those of a security nature such as police, prisons and army training depots. However, Matabeleland North is one of the lucky provinces in the country to host such esteemed institutions as it is home to the Zimbabwe Republic Police and the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services training depots in Ntabazinduna in Umguza District.
The people of Matabeleland North in general and of Umguza in particular should be thanking their stars that they are such a privileged lot to have the two institutions in their area. However, that is not the case if sentiments of their chief, Chief Nhlanhla Ndiweni, the son of the late maverick traditional leader, Chief Khayisa Ndiweni are anything to go by. The new chief is on a crusade to shutdown the two security training institutions in his jurisdiction, we are told.
In our last two editions, we have been carrying stories about the saga in which Chief Ndiweni has been in his wisdom or lack of it circulating petitions in his area of jurisdiction, the first being for the closure of the police training depot to make way for a vocational training centre, while the second is for the expansion of Ntabazinduna on the prisons land where the traditional leader has already started allocating stands. Chief Ndiweni is arguing that if the responsible authorities do not want the two depots to be closed, then half of the recruits should be from Ntabazinduna.
We find Chief Ndiweni’s reasoning absurd and bordering on a mindless frenzy driven by a platform seeking individual who is out of touch with reality. We never expected such harmful thoughts to come from Chief Ndiweni, who is said to be a holder of some academic degrees. If there is anyone who should appreciate that the Government in its wisdom chose to set up the two training institutions in Ntabazinduna it’s Chief Nhlanhla Ndiweni. The chief should just do a snap survey and check how many areas in the country are privileged to host institutions of that nature, he will be shocked.
On the recruitment exercise the chief should appreciate that the two cater for every Zimbabwean. We will agree with the chief if he was expending his energy on going around Umguza urging parents to take advantage to the two depots to encourage their children to join the two forces. The chief is the one who should be educating his subjects about the importance of the two training depots instead of calling for their closure. We also wonder whether people of Ntabazinduna are such prolific breeders who will be able to provide half of the recruits every time there is an intake.
As far as we are concerned Ntabazinduna is just a small area characterised by desertification which Chief Nhlanhla Ndiweni should be more worried about.
We are aware that the people of Matabeleland are always complaining that they are marginalised and when the Government decides to bring such strategic institutions to their areas, then it takes a leader like Chief Ndiweni to view such development with jaundiced eyes and call for their closure. We wonder what the good chief is smoking.
We urge all serious minded people to ignore Chief Nhlanhla Ndiweni as his sentiments are coming from an individual who in his bid to seek relevance has exposed himself for what he is. We need not say more.
derick.khumalo