Zanu-PF calls for CIOs to jealously guard sovereignty

MEMBERS of the Central Intelligence Organisation must jealously guard the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity, Presidential Affairs Minister Didymus Mutasa has said.

Mutasa said this as he officiated at the graduation ceremony of 28 students from the Robert Gabriel Mugabe School of Intelligence – an associate college of the Bindura University of Science Education in Harare yesterday.

Among the graduates of the second RGMSI graduation ceremony, 15 were male while 13 were female.

"Let us continue the long march of those who came before us, a march for a more just, more equal, more free, more caring and more prosperous Zimbabwe," Minister Mutasa said.

"We cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together, unless we perfect our union by understanding that we may not look the same and we may not have come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction – towards a better future for our country.

"There are many things to achieve for our nation, and especially by you, who will become its leaders tomorrow. You have a task, a task of developing your country.

"From now on, you should resolutely counter all challenges in order to achieve this task. You must be determined to endure hardship and trial, avoiding the easy way out, when you tackle this difficult task."

He urged the graduates to cherish their visions and dreams, describing them as the blueprint of their ultimate achievements.

Minister Mutasa was also introduced to 34 intelligence officers who graduated at Bindura University of Science Education with Bsc Honours Degree in Intelligence and Security Studies last month.

He hailed the relationship between the University and the RGMSI which has seen 31 students graduating with diplomas in Intelligence and Security Studies in 2012 while 18 officers graduated with Bsc Honours Degree in the same programme last year.

Minister Mutasa said combined enrolment for the degree and diploma programmes increased from 42 at its inception in 2007 to 159 at the current enrolment.

BUSE pro-vice chancellor Dr Cuthbert Katsvanga who was representing Vice Chancellor Professor Eddie Mwenje said intelligence officers were important in that they ensured peace, freedom and prosperity.

"It is the work of this mysterious field of intelligence and the same men and women therein involved and whom we are gathered with here, who commit their soul and spirit in ensuring that there is guaranteed peace in the country, the peace which is a necessary pre-requisite for economic development.

"The challenges that face humanity today require urgent interventions.

"The call for such interventions has brought to the fore all concerned, with academics being challenged to proffer sound research based solutions to these problems," he said.

"Education, therefore, has since become not only a tool for human civilisation but also one for unlocking human liberties," Dr Katsvanga said.