Online Reporter
Columbus Mabika in Gokwe
The Zimbabwe Defence Forces remain committed to ensuring inclusive, lifelong, quality community development reaches all corners of the country as the nation advances towards attaining upper middle-income status by 2030, Defence Minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri has said.
This commitment was underscored yesterday with the commissioning of a state-of-the-art administration block at Simchemba Secondary School in Gokwe North constituency.
Fitted with the required security features necessary for handling examinations, the new block has enabled the school to become a ZIMSEC centre for itself and for other schools within a 100-kilometre radius. Previously, the school lacked an administrative block capable of meeting examination security requirements, forcing its students to travel 100 kilometres to access a centre.
The project was conceived following a needs assessment aimed at identifying high-performing rural schools that lacked essential infrastructure. The block was built using materials funded through proceeds from the Air Force of Zimbabwe (AFZ) Charity Fund and community contributions in support of ZDF initiatives. Skilled artisans from the AFZ construction department carried out the work.
The block stands as this year’s Zimbabwe Defence Forces Community Assistance Star Project, part of the ZDF’s constitutional mandate to aid communities and civil ministries during peacetime.
In addition to infrastructure development, the AFZ is also running a week-long medical outreach programme in the area, where communities are receiving free treatment for various conditions.
Officially handing over the block to the community, Deputy Minister of Defence Brigadier General (Retired) Levi Mayihlome, representing Minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, said the ZDF was playing a vital role in national development.
“It is pleasing to note that the community assistance programme has been embraced by stakeholders and has over the years grown in leaps and bounds. It has increasingly become a significant vehicle for national development with a bias towards marginalised and disadvantaged communities,” he said.
“The ZDF at large remain committed to working with Zimbabweans from all walks of life to support sustainable community development that improves the lives of our people.”
He noted that the majority of projects revolve around the construction and refurbishment of learning and health facilities, which are critical for communities. He called on the nation to take collective responsibility for national development.
“The successful construction of this administration block is ample testimony of the power of synergistic collaboration between the military and civilian communities in advancing Government’s vision for national development,” he said.
Commander AFZ, Air Marshal Jacob Nzvede, said it has become a tradition that in the run-up to the Heroes and Defence Forces commemorations, the uniformed forces interact with communities. He said these interactions have produced lasting impact in national development through partnerships.
AFZ Charities Board Chairman, Mr Laxon Zembe, said the AFZ, through its charities, would continue to play a vital developmental role in disadvantaged communities to foster growth.
The school’s headmaster, Mr Dennis Muguti, described the commissioning of the block as a gift that builds tomorrow.
“May this facility continue to inspire academic excellence, open new opportunities for learners and stand as a lasting symbol of what can be achieved through unity, commitment and shared vision for a better future,” he said.
