President officially opens National Defence College

He said the establishment of the NDC was a result of the obtaining global security environment.
“Thus a strategic decision was taken by the Government in 2004 to estab­lish an institution to conduct training on the formulation of a comprehen­sive national security strategy under the ambit of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces. It is this strategic decision that culmi­nated in the establishment of the National Defence College,” he said.

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President Mugabe hoped the estab­lishment of the NDC would “trans­form the minds of those who may still not understand our situation and enable them now to view national problems with a common vision”.
He added that the NDC’s establish­ment was driven by the realisation that non-traditional threats to national security could be addressed through deliberate training pro­grammes involv­ing a cross-section of stakehold­ers.

“More specifically, the theme that preoccupies any National Defence College is that of national security aptly defined as ‘defence against chal­lenges to a nation’s vital interests’. In this regard, both military and civil­ian officials share the same platform availed by the National Defence College to study national security,” President Mugabe said.

The NDC, which enrolled students this month, will serve as the premier defence education centre imparting knowledge on national secu­rity and defence to selected senior military officers and civilians from various segments of society.

It will act as a thinktank providing research on military, defence and national security for the National Security Council, the Ministry of Defence and other Government departments.

Views of stakeholders are incorporated through seminars and workshops.
Studies at the NDC would enhance and widen participants’ comprehen­sion of the role of Zimbabwe’s foreign policy in promoting national interests and security while providing under­standing of instruments of national power.

Enrolment at the NDC is not open to everyone but to officers with the rank of colonel or group captain and above in the Zimbabwe Defence Forces and their equivalent ranks in other security services of the State like the Zimbabwe Republic Police, Zim­babwe Prison Ser­vices and State secu­rity.
Senior managers at the level of directors and above in Government ministries as well as managing direc­tors or senior managers in the paras­tatal and private sector community are eligible for enrolment on invitation.

Selected Sadc and friendly countries would also be invited to subscribe to each course.
The inclusion of civilians, defence and security officers from other coun­tries was designed to ensure maxi­mum interaction and cross fertilisa­tion of ideas by senior officials from varied backgrounds.

Teaching at the NDC started about a fortnight ago and the college is  offering two courses, the National Defence Course and the Master of Sci­ence in International Studies.

The parallel and complementary Master of Science in International Studies is a semesterised academic programme run over a period of 18 months.
The NDC is affiliated to the Univer­sity of Zimbabwe in a relationship that is meant to ensure proper nurturing of the NDC into a full-fledged university by 2015.
The relationship is purely academic and the UZ is not involved in the day to day administration and politics of the NDC.

“In keeping with international standards and norms, the National Defence College has sought and continues to seek international co-oper­ating partners. Pakistan and the People’s Republic of China have therefore been identified as partners for the National Defence College,” Pres­ident Mugabe said.

He said two senior highly-qualified and experienced officers from cooperating partners were already in the country assisting with instruc­tion at the NDC.
Anhui Foreign and Economic Construction Company of China built the state-of-the-art college and the Chinese Government donated Information Communication Technology equipment, buses and an ambulance to the college.

President Mugabe said the Chinese assistance was evidence of the strong bond of friendship that exists between the two countries traceable to the liberation war.
Construction of the college began in 2010 and was completed earlier than the anticipated date (2013).

Defence Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa said the establishment of the NDC would buttress Zimbabwe’s prominence in international pol­itics, especially after the country successfully embarked on the land reform programme, which earned it both enemies and sympathisers.