ZDF ready to deal with disasters

Columbus Mabika

The Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) has realigned training of its human resources to actively respond to disasters.

This would be responsive to climate change, which has become a constant threat to State and national security, Commander ZDF, General Philip Valerio Sibanda said.

He was speaking in an interview ahead of Heroes and Defences Forces Day commemorations slated for next week.

General Sibanda said the ZDF has created a robust disaster management and response system comprising different expertise for both proactive and reactive measures to deal with potential threats of natural disasters.

He said Cyclone Idai in 2019 was an eye opener for the ZDF as it exposed gaps in disaster response systems, which prompted the ZDF through the Zimbabwe National Defence University to develop a Masters Degree in Disaster Management.

The degree is now in the second year and will aid in filling the missing gaps in disaster response.

“Our responses to the challenges we face are informed by a thorough analysis of the environment and learning from other military organisations in the region. Against this, we have reviewed training to deal with both traditional and non-traditional threats as we go forward. For example, at our university, we have developed a new degree programme to cater for disasters,” he said

“There was urgent need to ensure that military training for disaster response action is structured to meet the needs as dictated by the geography in various parts of the country. From the statistics provided, you will agree with me that the destruction caused by Cyclone Idai was beyond every Zimbabweans’ wildest imagination.”

He said although the nature of calamities will never be the same, the ZDF however still requires to draw lessons from the past natural calamities so that it can enhance preparedness’ to deal with similar disasters in the future and respond to the after effects.

Turning to other threats that could disrupt peace in the region, he said Zimbabwe was working closely with sister countries to come up with solutions.

“On regional security, we belong to the SADC security architecture, where we have attended all meetings to do with regional security, and we have also participated in combined training exercises,” he said.

Speaking on the operational aspect of the ZDF, General Sibanda said the force has become a people’s Defence Force as witnessed by its work.

This comes as the ZDF on Monday began its community assistance week, where it hands several projects to communities.

The programme is in line with its constitutional mandate to protect Zimbabwe, its people, national security and interests, territorial integrity, and to uphold the Constitution and aiding civil communities in peace time.

It is part of the ZDF peacetime mandate to embrace development in the country by extending a helping hand to communities as the nation gears towards the realisation of Vision 2030.