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Felex Share Senior Reporter
The Ministry of Defence and War Veterans Affairs yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Chinhoyi University of Technology (CUT) to collaborate in education, research and developmental activities that will bring socio-economic benefits to the country.
The agreement will see the Zimbabwe Staff College offering a Bachelor of Science (Honours) Degree in Defence Logistics beginning this month.
Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, who was the Acting President, launched the three-year degree programme at the Josiah Magama Tongogara Barracks in Harare yesterday.
VP Chiwenga, who administers the Ministry of Defence and War Veterans Affairs, described the marriage between the two institutions as “unique”, adding that the implementation of the programme would have positive results to the nation.
“Logistics is one of the key areas in military studies whose thrust is directed at capacitating student officers with knowledge of maintaining and sustaining a military force during both peace and war time,” he said.
VP Chiwenga said the training in logistics would be key in the execution of Government programmes such as Command Agriculture and resuscitation of the economy.
“I am aware that this degree programme has taken on board important modules such as economics, business entrepreneurship and management,” he said.
“The inclusion of such modules should help to mould graduands who are able to make meaningful contributions to the achievement of national development strategies. The theories taught need to be buttressed by thorough research and reinforced by practical exposures.”
Other tertiary institutions, VP Chiwenga said, should forge partnerships with the Zimbabwe Defence Forces to enhance national security operational efficiencies.
Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development Minister Professor Amon Murwira welcomed the new arrangement.
“As a nation, we need to develop things that matter to us, things that have a meaning to us,” he said. “It is important to tell our own story with confidence. We cannot package and try to sell it. Nobody buys poverty. We must package and sell opportunity.
CUT Vice-Chancellor Professor David Simbi said: “The military has always been associated with the battlefield activities that encompass aggression and force, yet military strategy has given birth to strategic pathways for economic development that have been adopted for civilian use; for example, the cellphone.
“These have become pillars for the socio-economic revival for many countries the world over as facilitators of commercial transactions of one kind or another. CUT and ZDF should set an example that can be replicated by institutions throughout Zimbabwe. Gone are the days when universities were seen as ivory towers known for pontificating and philosophising.”
The MOU, said Prof Simbi, should not gather dust, but must be implemented through clear action plans.
ZDF Commander General Philip Valerio Sibanda and Zimbabwe National Army Commander Lieutenant-General Edzai Chimonyo witnessed the event.
Online Reporter