‘No price worth selling the country for’

Nqobile Tshili, Chronicle Correspondent
THE military remains vigilant against any hostile external machinations as there is no price worth selling the country for, a senior army officer said yesterday.

Addressing a graduation parade of 189 officers at the School of Signals at Imbizo Barracks, Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) Officer Commanding Bulawayo District, Colonel Rantham Moyo, said attempts by hostile countries to infiltrate the country’s defence forces using money would not succeed.

He challenged ZNA cadres to apply the knowledge they obtained fruitfully in the discharge of duty saying the communication field has become a battlefield.

“From the detailed cyber warfare, communication security and electronic warfare packages covered during your studies, you will be aware that hostile intelligence services are always at work trying to obtain sensitive information about Zimbabwe in general and the Zimbabwe National Army in particular.

“As signallers, you are privy to sensitive information and as such you are potential targets of such hostile agents. You need to always be on guard against falling prey to such agents. You should always remain upright and straight forward as no price is worth selling your motherland,” said Col Moyo.

He said soldiers should not seek to live extravagant lives as this exposes them to bribes in exchange for information. Col Moyo said the ZNA was always ready to intervene when their members are in need.

“One sure way of avoiding such temptations is to live within your means. This can only be achieved by spending only what you earn. Where you find yourself in need of financial assistance, consult your commanders who are mandated to ensure that your administrative shortcomings are never overlooked. Remember the ZNA has a provision for institutional financial assistance in this regard,” said Col Moyo.

He said part of the officers courses was military civic education, which teaches the army about the political and socio-economic environment. Col Moyo said it was critical of the military to have training in signals as it addresses organisational communications.

“The syllabi for the courses graduating today were tailor-made to embrace the challenges presented by the ever changing field of communication. A career in signals requires one to keep abreast with technological changes in the fast changing field of information and technology, remember, nowadays, this field is a battlefield on its own,” he said. — @nqotshili