PRESIDENT Jakaya Kikwete has urged the forthcoming Fifth Phase Government to consider national defence and security among the country’s priorities through strengthening and modernisation of the armed forces.
Mr Kikwete, who is the Commander- in-Chief of the armed forces made the call in Dar es Salaam shortly before laying the foundation stone for the construction of the 55 million US-dollar (about 121bn/-) National Defence Headquarters at Makongo Juu within Lugalo Military Base.
The envisaged facility will have offices for the Commander-in-Chief, the Ministry of Defence and National Service as well as the office of Chief of Defence Forces, in addition to administrative centres for Air, Navy and Land commands.
President Kikwete is expected to leave office at the end of this year after his ten-year tenure of five years each in accordance to the constitution of the land.
He hailed the army for initiating a plan to put up the new building and relocate
from the current headquarters, Ngome, at Upanga area in Dar es Salaam, which faces limited space for a military base nature.
“Our military has been expanding and the space at Upanga is limited - and with decaying infrastructure which does not support technological advancement; it is thus ideal to have a facility that will accommodate all military commands,” he stated.
He pledged government support on execution of the mega-project that will host state-of-the-art technology to monitor all military operations countrywide.
“I will be leaving office a happy man after successfully accomplishing my duty as the Commander-in- Chief,” Mr Kikwete said.
Earlier, the Chief of Armed Forces (CDF), General Davis Mwamunyange, said the idea to construct the new headquarters was prompted by the desire to strengthen the military.
“The current headquarters at Upanga does not meet the required demands for the country’s national defence headquarters due to dilapidated infrastructure and lack of space for expansion,” General Mwamunyange stated.
After a thorough assessment, General Mwamunyange said, the army leadership chose the site at Makongo Juu as the right place for the National Defence Headquarters.
The project is slated for completion after two years. The Minister for Defence and National Service, Dr Hussein Mwinyi, said the project is among initiatives taken to strengthen the army during the last ten years of President Kikwete’s administration.
The minister mentioned other ventures implemented during Mr Kikwete’s term in office as the setting up of the college, the Command College at Duluti in Arusha and the construction of 10,000 units for soldiers countrywide.
Source:Daily News
Hakuna maoni:
Chapisha Maoni