Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, President Mnangagwa, yesterday promoted four Air Force of Zimbabwe (AFZ) Wing Commanders to the rank of Group Captain with effect from 16 June 2023.
The President made the promotions in terms of Section 15 (1) (b) of the Defence Act, which reads “His Excellence the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe and Commander in Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces may, on the advice of the minister acting on the recommendation of the commander, promote or temporarily appoint an officer to a higher rank”.
The four are, Stanford Ncube, Lloyd Bamba, Blessing Chaza and Mike Makochekanwa.
Conferring new insignia of rank to the newly-promoted at AFZ headquarters, commander AFZ, Air Marshal Elson Moyo said the promotion was based on a number of factors.
“Your promotion came as a result of a number of considerations among which are merit, distinguished service, consistent dutifulness, hard work, loyalty and patriotism. You are therefore reminded that the promotion to a higher rank is a sign of goodwill, trust and confidence that the President and command element have accorded you, he said. “In this regard, you are henceforth encouraged to uphold your exemplary leadership principles, professionalism and military expertise that you have acquired over your entire service for the betterment of Zimbabwe.”
Air Marshal reminded the newly-promoted that their promotion came with more responsibilities.
“Promotion to the next rank always comes with an increase and surge in responsibilities thus your promotion marks a turning point and transition from experience, duties and responsibilities of senior officers in the defence forces,” he said.
He called on the newly promoted to be innovative and meet the demands of the AFZ and the nation at large.
“There are a lot demands expected from you, we are an innovative organisation and I expect you to come up with solutions to problems bedevilling us. You are taking over responsibility in an era where one of the enemies you are going to be facing is social media and cyber security issues, m aware that you are all well-read to tackle these issues,” he said.Group Capt Stanford Ncube e expressed gratitude to President Mnangagwa for the promotion.
“We sincerely express gratitude to the President for this promotion. We promise to continue working hard for this great nation,” he said. – The Herald
