President Robert Mugabe yesterday delivered one of his shortest speeches during Zimbabwe Defence Forces Day commemorations in Harare as he showed signs of fatigue.
BY XOLISANI NCUBE
Mugabe stuck to his prepared speech and was not at the podium for more than 30 minutes.
The brief address was in sharp contrast to the speech delivered at the Heroes Acre the previous day, which lasted over an hour.
Mugabe struggled to walk to the podium after standing for a few minutes during an inspection of the military parade.
He used a military van to inspect the parade which was mounted by the Presidential Guard and Air Force of Zimbabwe.
The 91-year-old leader’s speech was confined to operations of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF), unlike in the past where he often ventured into local and international politics.
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He said ZDF had been resilient in the face of economic challenges facing the country.
“As we celebrate the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, I would like to take this opportunity to commend our defence forces for remaining resolute in discharging their constitutional mandate . . . Recently, this has not been an easy task, given that the forces have become a target of the proponents of the regime change agenda,” Mugabe said.
“Many attempts have been made to frustrate and weaken the Zimbabwe Defences Forces mainly by the imposition of the illegal sanctions and scuttling of military hardware procurement deals.”
He also spoke about projects undertaken by the army, which included construction of a secondary school and a clinic in Murongwe, Mashonaland Central province, an early child development centre complex at Nyadire Teachers College and four classrooms at Mapani Primary School in Chakari, Mashonaland West.
Mugabe said Zimbabwe’s military played a key role in quashing potential disturbances in Lesotho and were now taking part in the establishment of a standby regional force.
“Plans are also at advanced stage to host a joint Sadc special force drill in Kariba code-named ‘Exercise Mahombekombe’ from August to September 2015,” he said.
He said the National Defence College, which is an associate college of the University of Zimbabwe, would soon be transformed into a fully-fledged independent university by year end.
“To enhance mutual co-operation, interaction and exchange of military expertise, the Zimbabwe Defence Forces are engaged in military student exchange programmes with other defence forces in the region and beyond,” he said.
Mugabe said students from Malawi, Lesotho, Mozambique and Namibia were enrolled at local institutions of military training.
“They (ZDF) also have a 14-member training team in Namibia assisting the sister country with military training,” he said.
“Similarly, the Zimbabwe Defence Forces personnel are participating in external courses in China, Pakistan, Malaysia, Greece, Tanzania, South Africa, Kenya, Botswana, Mozambique and Zambia. The defence forces also have members enrolled at various civilian institutions in Zimbabwe,” he said.
After his speech, Mugabe did not go back to inspect the second march past parade as is the norm. Mugabe, who has been in power for 35 years, insists that he is healthy.
Zanu PF has already endorsed him to stand in the 2018 elections.
