Story by Owen Mandovha
THE government will leverage the extensive internal skills capacity found in the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) to create a company that can contribute to the country’s infrastructure development drive.
Defence Minister Honourable Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri has expressed gratitude to President Mnangagwa for providing the ZDF with budgetary support to carry out critical projects such as the Dzivarasekwa Defence Housing Project.
She, however, lamented constraints faced in completing other projects, hence the need to establish a fully-fledged private construction company to address the gap.
“As the ministry, using our human resources, we are going to create a private company that will compete with other companies in the private sector to plug any budgetary constraints we are facing,” she said.
Commander ZDF General Philip Valerio Sibanda noted the need to maintain a well-resourced defence force to safeguard national peace and security.
He said, “ZDF commends the support we are getting to create an able and ready military. These projects are fundamental in providing the military with the key facilities such as housing to create the necessary infrastructure.”
The projects are being implemented by the ZDF Construction Regiment with technical support provided by Road Haven Construction Company in a beneficial public-private partnership.
“We provide affordable and modern housing technologies and solutions. We are working with the Zimbabwe Regiments Construction to train them on constructing houses without using brick and mortar,” RoadHaven Construction’s chief executive officer Mr Dakarayi Mapuranga said.
The donation of 54 service vehicles by President Mnangagwa is further testimony of the critical support the ZDF is continuously receiving to improve efficiency.
