THE call for military personnel to maintain peace and order was the rallying point as the Five Infantry Brigade at Battlefields near Kwekwe witnessed the change of command this Friday.
Brigadier General Lawrence Munzararikwa takes over the reins at the Brigade following the reassignment of Brigadier General Mpuleang Siziba, who assumes the position of Director General Joint Operations and Plans at the Zimbabwe Defence Forces Headquarters in Harare.
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As a formation, I carried out operations against illegal gold panning and machete wielding gangs to support the ZRP. Relatedly, we currently have security forces deployed in Gokwe to curb the smuggling of goods outside the country. Together with my colleagues from JOC, we have managed to address the various security challenges,” Brigadier General Siziba said.
The incoming commander, Brigadier General Lawrence Munzararikwa says he ready to take on the task at hand.
“I will ensure that the troops I am leading here reach their full potential. I am cognisant of the responsibilities that come with the task at hand. The province requires us to deal with illegal mining, smuggling and all sorts of vices. I assure you that I will endeavour to keep everything under command in good order,” he said.
The Zimbabwe National Army Commander, Lieutenant General Anselem Sanyatwe, who was the Chief Witnessing Officer urged the military personnel to uphold the constitution.
“The people of Zimbabwe have high hopes and expectations for a better future. Accordingly, as the Zimbabwe National Army, we should discharge our constitutional mandate to ensure conducive and tranquil environment prevails for the attainment of national programmes.
“We should all therefore understand the vision enunciated by the President and Commander in Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces in its entirety in order to contribute meaningfully to the attainment of an upper-middle-income economy status of our motherland,” he said.
The Zimbabwe National Army is mandated to safeguard the country’s territorial integrity from the country’s detractors.
