Thursday, March 28, 2024

President Sata directs Defence Ministry to set up a Marine wing to protect Zambians

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FILE: President Sata cuts a ribbon during the official opening of the newly constructed Livingstone ZAF Banquet Hall while ZAF Commander, Lieutenant General Eric Chimense and Defence minister Geoffrey Mwamba look on
FILE: President Sata cuts a ribbon during the official opening of the newly constructed Livingstone ZAF Banquet Hall while ZAF Commander, Lieutenant General Eric Chimense and Defence minister Geoffrey Mwamba look on

Defence minister Geoffrey Mwamba has announced that the Government is in a process of establishing a Marine wing in the defence force.

Mr Mwamba said the establishment of the marine forces follows the directive from President Michael Sata on the need to have such a division especially that Zambia has a number of water bodies.

The other reason is to protect the Zambian people including fishermen who live along the water bodies sharing borders with other countries.

“Since Zambia has a lot of water bodies, the Commander of the Armed Forces, President Michael Sata directed that a marine defence force be established, as soon as possible. The plan is already on the drawing board and will come to fruition soon,” Mr Mwamba said.

Mr Mwamba said this yesterday when he visited the Angolan supreme School of War where some defence personnel from Angola and other countries in the region usually undertake their military refresher courses.

Mr Mwamba who was taken on a tour of the college said Zambia had a similar set up but is called Staff College and also offered similar courses; expect training in the navy as the country does not have such a set up.

He said as Zambia was in the process of establishing a marine defence force, it would not hesitate to consult Angola to assist set up the division.

Mr Mwamba also said Government would soon modernize all the three defence wings in line with the modern international standards.

He said Government had recognised the urgent need to modernise the three defence wings, which include the Zambia Army, Zambia Air Force and the Zambia National Service because of the obsolete equipment they have.

He said the modernization of the three departments also entails the building of adequate housing units for the defence personnel in the country as the way of boosting their morale.

And Angolan Minister of Defence General Candido Van-Dunem pledged his country’s continued support to Zambia’s development agenda especially in the areas of defence through the training of military personnel and exchange programmes.

Gen. Dunem said Zambia and Angola have continued to enjoy political and economic ties and should therefore continue working together to foster peace and security especially on the borders of the two countries.

79 COMMENTS

    • Protection can be from many things , he mentioned peopla who lives near water … may from drowning , or any threats by water or on water … in the US there is what they call the coast guards , they are part of the defence forces .. Any way let me not waste my time explaining what you will never comprehend.

    • yes we need a Marine wing in our defense force to patrol our Zambezi river, Lake Tanganyika to mention a few. The world is changing rapidly, today you can live in peace with your neighbors, tomorrow they turn against you.THE SECURITY OF A NATION IS VERY VERY VITAL.

    • That is wapt thinking Gumgumu. You really have a blue head. Come down to earth. No wonder Zambia has never come out of low income brackets of poorest nations. It is because of people like Gumugumu who only live for today.

      Now lets imagine we have the likes of Guimugumu in government….what will become of mother Zambia?

    • gumugumu you sound very childish indeed.Why ask such a silly question?You dont know why countries have armies?Grow up mwaiche and get real!

    • For the benefit of Under5 Party for Regional Dummies- who seems to be more ignorant than he professes, the US Coast Guard is one of the 7 US Uniformed Services but falls under Department of Homeland Security during peacetime, and can only be transferred to the Department of the Navy by the President at any time, or by Congress during time of war. So it’s true- protect from what? We have one of the most bloated and inefficient armies in the world and most unequipped. Better we make our army lean and more efficient, than open new departments!

    • Gumugumu, zambian fisherman are constantly harassed on the waters we share with DRC and Zimbabwe, by soldiers and thugs from those countries

  1. Do we establish new entities thru 5yr planning and based on detailed formal budgetary process or thru decrees akin to roadside kantemba operations? Sata needs to learn to stop his “with immediate effect” intoxication.

    Havin said that,zed is easily outgunned and outspent in defence matters in the region.With the exception of Malawi & DRC our country can hardly face off against Angolan,Zim,Kenyan or Tz militaries which are up to date & well equiped with latest hardware.

    • You, did he say this marine unit should be up and running next month? Ubupuba, what is wrong with drawing up plans to establish things and at the same time start looking around for help from people who have had the experience implementing such programs within their defense forces?

      The president gave reasons why we need a marine unit, and the defense minister is going around trying to learn from others who already have such military units/wings. Apparently, by talking about such plans, he is doing it with the transparence Zambians deserve. So what is wrong with that?

      The President or Minister of defense did not say they are going to do this “next week” without any budgetary allocations—it is just a plan for God’s sakes! Kanshi mwaba shani mwema Zambians ukudandaula lyonse?!

    • Zambia’s threat today is not from our regional brothers and sisters such as Zim, DRC, Kenya etc.. Our main threat is from forces outside of the African continent. Its of vital importance that we do protect our water bodies. The major ‘Police States’ of the world are into scientific research on a Biochemical/Gem warfare basis…these days its easy just to contaminate our water sources when we are not vigilant, they can put all manner of parasites and viruses into our water system. So this move is important against ALL such threats. Also as you have mentioned our neighbours are equiped up to a point, thats good as we can all concentrate our AFRICAN FORCES to protect our common sovereignty against common ENEMIES.

    • Tell me which landlocked country has marines? A marine force is a specialised infantry force in support role of naval operations & aims.Since we don’t have a navy which support role are our “marines” going to play? You ,Sata & co need to stop exposing your ignorance.

    • @Enka, just because you live in the states and everytime time yo hear ‘marines’ then its sea stuff lik subs and the like, dont show your ignorance in public, Zambia has borders on water like lakes and river, dont you think we need coast guards to protect those borders? Sata has trained military advisors, for him to make such a move then the men and women that protect us, while you clean old peoples bums in the states, have seen the need for it. so please, stop ‘kuli bonesha’ just bacause you are in the states, by looking at the people at home like they know nothing. What do you know about state security?…….nothing?…. thought so!

  2. @gumugumu:

    Where have you been? You didn’t hear about the group of fishermen who were kidnapped by DR Congo marines in Luapula (I guess on some lake or there, can’t remember which)? These are some of the duties marines can take care of—patrolling our water ways, especially those we share with our neighbors.

    There has also been several incidences on Lake Kariba where our Zambian fishermen have been fired upon by Zimbabweans (if I remember correctly, some even killed.) Zambia army or ZAF have no specialized training or equipment to deal with such unique national security challenges.

    So, having a small but highly specialized and uniquely equipped marine unit, like we have a commando unit, within our army isn’t such a bad idea. Let us not just mouth-off for the sake of it!

    • @ Yambayamba. These chaps like Gumugumu and Enka, probably got to where they are via MMD’s corrupt regime, really annoying. Totally no analysis, no point of reference, no evidence, nothing in their posts. Really annoying!

  3. Next step in job creation:
    – Admiral of the Fleet (6);
    – HQ Staff Officers (60);
    – Con-Artists (149,934)
    Total: Extra 150,000 jobs created

  4. Marines in Zambia… what will they be equipped with for their training and tactical maneuvers. Submarines?? battleships?? Aircraft carrier?? ….. anyway here goes another wing to go unpaid.

  5. I am a little confused here! Was our Minister of Defence sharing our military strategy with a neighbouring country? Shouldn’t details of such plans be kept a secret, especially from your neighbours???

    • No bwana, Angola is the most experienced nation in our region with regards to war. Angola in the last 20 years have fought succesfully against the racist regime of South Africa as well as the US ARMY under the auspices of covert CIA units. America spent more money mounting military operations in Angola than they spent in Vietnam. And Angola defeated them. Angola is friendly to Zambia, and we MUST benefit from those with more DEFENCE EXPERIENCE.

  6. Yes ..we need marine solders to protect our pipo.. On luapula river..congolese solders are always harrasing our pipo esp fishermen..if God forbid we pick up a fight with congo or other neighbors with waters (Zim, Tanzani…) we need to be equiped to fight by all means, land, waters and air…

  7. I whole heartedly support the idea. But its rather strange that we go and announce our military inadequacies to a foreign military power all in the name of transparency, wrong platform! I appreciate that we exchange ideas and expertise in this Global village, but there are matters that can be mentioned of course, but privately and behind closed doors please!

  8. They are looking for ways to supply the Army so that they can benefit…. Upgrading the army wings and supply of uniforms, arms, boats and other equipments. Now, ask yourself, whose gonna get the tenders?

  9. Good idea if we consider what our uniformed colleagues do for public good beyond their immediate mandates such as emergency response to disasters. Armed forces have constructed bridges in the aftermath of heavy downpours that have seen bridges washed away and assisted in rescue operations so rather than wait for a disaster to occur on any of our water bodies before considering establishment of a marine unit equipped well to respond it is best to have it in place as insurance and assurance to safety

  10. In this era where we have Obama setting up huge garrisons in our neighbourhood…This Kenyan/Luo American President is one of the first to place a permanent significant American force, AFRICA COMMAND/AFRICOM. I see such Amerian manourvers as very threatening to our future Peace and Prosperity. Therefore improving and upgrading our defence capability in a rational manner is much appreciated by this Bemba Zambian man. On the other hand as citizens of Zambia of whatever stock, we MUST demand a certain level of transparency in the activities of our Defence forces..their aims need to be made known and fully comprehended by the Public at all times. While I am here I would like to propose that we establish a highly skilled regiment for the purpose of road construction. This regiment can be made a

    • Chibamba, I think if you look carefully, the “Amerian manourvers”, they are there to help African countries with their security problems, not to fight wars with them!

      And if UKWAS marines decided to fight the USA, do you really think they will last more than ten minutes?

      The solution is to make friends with our neighbors, not enemies, and SAVE MONEY FOR DEVELOPMENT of facilities for the Zambian people. Not waste it on useless things.

      And get a President that knows what DIPLOMACY is, not this clown with his stupid and ignorant statements.

    • @Miodon, dont be fooled by the Americans. when has the USA done anything that is in anothers country(ies) interest? Get it from me my dear, the US will NEVER do anything for you as long as its not in there best interest. The only reason the US is setting up a command in Africa is coz of china’s ever growing influence in the region, and not to help poor africans in war tone areas. Its for their benefit and not yours. We all saw how quick the US controlled NATO moved into Libya and Iraq a few years ago to fight Ghadafi and Saddam, but we have seen them continue giving threats and speeches to Syria. There is one thing Libya and Iraq have in common that Syria doesnt have and we all know its oil. So did they US act because they cared about the Libyans or themselves? I’ll leave that to you.

    • @Miodon: Always remember the saying, “SPEAK SOFTLY WHILE CARRYING A BIG STICK!” This strategy seems to have worked quite well in “diplomatic circles” for countries such as the USA with bigger, advanced, and sophisticated army. These countries seem to do very well every time there is a need for “diplomatic arm-twisting” backed up by credible military muscle.

      Know that development without a credible “army” to defend it is useless. You cannot just sit back and pray for the GOOD OMENS FROM THE GODS OF PEACE AND DIPLOMACY while all the countries around you are updating and beefing up their militaries. It is very irresponsible and myopic of the waste kind to assume that all will remain peaceful between you and your neighbors for eternity. Even countries in the Euro Zone don’t think so!

  11. Available to road constructors for a fee, this Army regiment can be used as an emergency measure to help us meet our URGENT need for better quality road networks in the country for the purpose of safety and equally importantly for us to open up our Nation, making it a regional logistical hub for trade. Na pela!

  12. Can our blue headed ukwa get serious and put medicine in hospitals, jobs, improve our education system and lastly when everyone in laughing, decide to have a marine.

    These crooks are looking for any angle to fleece the state of its resources. Very soon mwamba will die of amassing too much money through corruption.

  13. This is laughable indeed…who is feeding the old man in State House with all this ill-informed ill researched data…marine for what and on which side of the border? Honestly which enemy would enter Zambia via water bodies when the sky and the land is very wide open…. Why not increase funding to the police so they create a much more equipped and well trained River and lake constabulary that can also enforce fishing bans off season in our already depleted lakes.
    The list of misplaced priorities grows everyday!!

  14. You are a landlocked country you dont need that

    A lot of ignoramus people here on all honest but then again this is the third world country and lets be honest as someone with a PhD soon Iam perpetually ahead of others in analyzing things

    Just off to the Saturday market with Nick and his Uncle Freddie

    Thanks

    • Yeah,tell these nutters like yambayamba & zonder who don’t see sense.Tryin to tell ’em that Sata does not consult and study his proposals and decrees well beforehand is like rocket science.
      Big countries like S.A,Nigeria ,Kenya,Tz …with real navies & coastlines don’t even have marines but here comes landlocked zambia with a warped idea of marines.Just put some riverine patrol force NOT MARINES.

    • @Mushota. Ati going to saturday market with Nick! Atase! Why not just say you are going for salaula Mushota. This over prized, over praised relationship with Nick is just a sham and a shame. Those bazungus consider it as doing a ‘favor’ to a black woman from Africa, when they marry or date one in this kind of set up. I wouldn’t be singing Hallelujah in this kind of arrangement if I were you. Its demeaning, dehumanizing and humiliating. I have a hunch that even the most hallucinated Phd student ship is non existent. You are generally a fictitious character that is egocentric and fake. You are a paradox of logic and evil! Dare me!

  15. That is why you need an educated President at Plot One. This man can not prioritise matters and has no plan. Angola has a big coast line to the Atlantic Ocean. We are land locked and we do not need a navy.
    The best they could do is supply our police with good motorboats to monitor criminal activity along our borders. No need for navy.
    This government is totally lost. MMD was even better because they had better priorities.
    A country with food shortages, high unemployment,etc, is talking of a navy!! Lack of consultation is also another problem with this govt. If he had advisors, he would not be going around just making pronoucements that are not backed by substance.
    I am waiting for him to ‘create’ another district 🙂

  16. Gumugumu fu, to protect Zambians from people like you. Zambia Combined Cadet Force (ZCCF) in high school had Chamboli Secondary School and another sec school in Livingstone (the only two) in the country which trained sea cadets. This is not new. Only it was not developed using the regular army. With helicopters and trained personnel they can be just like the US Coast guards who saves scores of people (lives) yearly.

  17. Perhaps its opportune at this juncture to ask why African Armies generally, including ours, are ruthless and down right hostile to its civilian populations both in times of war and peace. The training of a soldier unlike a Police officer, obviously is to kill the enemy. But in our African set up, the”enemy” includes civilians, the very people soldiers are supposed to protect. Consequently there is an uneasy relationships between the 2 parties unlike in the west where civilians literally ‘worship’ their men and women in uniform. The Army needs to work hard to get rid of this colonial legacy and image. In US there is a law that the armed forces other than National Guards and Police forces , cannot be applied on American citizens in America. May be that’s what has helped them.

  18. some of u bloggers are dull. Everytime our fishermen are abducted by congolese fishermen you cry. As long as we share maritime borders with another country, we need a marine force. Its not about submarines coz even countries that are developed like australia dont have subs. Open your eyes people we need a maritime force

  19. Zambia does not need a Navy. Its a very expensive program run. We are landlocked nation. Sata is not being analytic.

    The best we can is to have “Coast Guards” who can patrol the lakes and protect the fishing industries and all the disputes at hand.

    • #22 Independent Observer –

      I agree with you. A lot of comments here are very blind. I trained at the Sandhurst Royal Military Academy UK in the 1990’s and I know for sure that’s its not ideal for Zambia to take this program. It would be a waste millions of US Dollars. A small team of Coast Guards is ideal.

    • @Vatican, you must have been the Dullest Cadet then if you cant discern the need for a marine fore from the need to build schools etc. Grow up

  20. People, I am not PF. Infact you may call me ‘anti’ PF. However, the idea should not be shot down until we hear details. It is possible to have a small quick reaction marine-based unit which can be deployed to address marine threats. We may not need a fully fledged Navy. Lets wait and see the precise plans. By the way, 1 Commando Unit already goes thru some marine training, so it won’t be new

    • Spot on…this is another reason why the president’s powers should be reduced it is costing the taxpayer…he can not just wake up and issue ill informed directives like constructing stadiums and creating pointless districts. Why not let the defence chiefs make these assessments; the taxpayer has invested heavily in training them to make such recommendations.

  21. Hey guys contries like Botswana have a small marine wing. Is Bots having submarine? BDF is well armed with morden advanced equipment, Their air wing is equiped with F17 fighters @ Maparangwane air base built by US as a bridge head in Africa what is there to hide gooogle for info about afrian armies and its equipment all the info is there. Wakeup you pipo we need a small rapid marine wing bravo Sata!

  22. Our colleagues in Rwanda are investing heavily in modernising their welfare wings like the police and other domestic enforcement wings. They are working in collaboration with the FBI in training their police investigators in modern crime investigating strategies.
    Meanwhile in Zambia its a whole different story, the president who is supposedly “allergic” to the lethal infectious disease called corruption is busy daydreaming “BIG” in State House about creating a marine/navy and equipping it with Type 42 destroyers and frigates. One only has to dig deeper into this, one will eventually discover that its just sham an opportunity for politicians like GBM to award themselves with lucrative defence contracts to supply equipment and kickbacks from defence suppliers.
    Wake up people!!

  23. its high time the government established proper military universities and law school where the police can get a law degree before they embark on physical and military training.

  24. @Enka,jay jay,gumugumu ,kamo amashiluyanenu eyangamumfwa.l think hh and Sekwila can. Go on st Micheal !We are in a hurry to develop .After o u are doing t 4 0 even generations after u. As the above comment their lunacy keeps on coming out. Go,go pf!

  25. @ Miodon… Your considerations are noted. Though my comrade I do think you are misguided in your trust of American guardianship. The American system is not designed to help African interests. The history of African relations with the young American state in just the last 100 years can only be described as genocidal on our part! Every war minor or major on the continent has been guided by American army strategists and resources. Every war on the continent! And since the 80’s their new strategy has been chemical warfare, i.e the manufacture of deadly diseases that are unleashed on our population through various methods such as vaccination. The main disease that they are using to kill/reduce our population is HIV/AIDS.. They manufactured it. Read ‘Emerging Viruses’ DR Leonard Horowitz.

  26. @ MIODON… And back to the topic at hand.. I think its reasonable for GRZ to make this proposition, and its important to our economy. It will reduce unemployment, providing long term careers for those that should join such a service. The fishing Industry in Zambia as we all know has massive potential if only we gave it more attention and investment. That having been said alot of rural dwellers rely on fishing as a means of survival, which is honourable..therefore they have a right to be protected by their government while they work. Mind you the rural dwellers are the majority in our nation unlike us town people who think we alone are Zambia. And also I notice many bloggers think this will be some big naval force, but to the contrary, i think GRZ are talking of a small policing force on t

  27. …a small policing force on our waters..which I think have the potential to take on other missions such as rescue and emergency etc, which we need in comparison to the vast water bodies we have. Na pela

  28. You smart Alecs need to get down to earth. Lake Tanganyika allows for foreign intrusion from Burundi Rwanda and Tanzania (although Tanzania is our best friend who can never attack us) so does Lake Kariba with Zimbabwe. Lake Mweru can allow intrusion from DRC so its only strategically logical that we prepare ourselves for a naval attack by setting up a navy. Utulo!

  29. You cant even afford to buy police vehicles and so where is the money for Marine vessels going to come from. Mind you, marine vessels can be out at “sea” , or in this case “river”, for days and need to be equipped with modern technology. SO these are not speed boats we are talking about but big time patrol vessels. Its a good idea but be practical Mr. President.

  30. Marine corps? For what? These chaps have been smoking their socks again! Kariba, Mweru and Tanganyika, add to that Zambezi and Luapula rivers do not warrant establishment of a marine corp. Regular soldiers with the help of the airforce can do the job just as well. These water bodies are only plied by dug out canoes to waste money on a marine unit. For god’s sake Angola is fronted by an ocean that us why they have a marine unit. Protecting fishermen? From their fellow Congole? Get serious Ukwason!

  31. Someone take a trip to Luapula and see first hand how Zambians are harassed by the Congolese on the waters of Lake Mweru. There’s none to protect them because we have no water patrols from the security wings of this country

  32. Zambia has an abundant supply of reliable water – 45% of total water resources of Southern African Region is found in Zambia. if this resource has been used on irrigation, hydro-power, domestic why can’t it be used for marine purposes to protect Zambians ant countries in need. In this era we need this force, if our present lakes & rivers are inadequate we should make man made ocean as we did with Lake Kariba for the purpose. Should we continue relying on Botswana for marine assistance whenever there’s pontoon accident at Kazungula? Does this need to be proposed by Sata? Why do we wait for Sata to think and start criticizing instead of us suggesting and Sata criticizing. No wonder Zambia has got more opposition parties and fields 11 presidential candidates than any other African country.

  33. You naysayers should educate yourselves. What’s a Marine? In the US all soldiers are marines cos they are trained to fight on land and sea. Since we have lakes and rivers on our borders we need to train our soldiers (marines)

  34. You naysayers should educate yourselves. What’s a Marine? In the US all soldiers are marines cos they are trained to fight on land and sea. Since we have lakes and rivers on our borders we need to similarly train our soldiers (marines)

  35. The bottom line is that we need a properly trained and well equiuped army that is able to fight om land and water.Take a leaf from botswana.In flood disasters they are called to assist flood victims, help in search and rescue victims of drowning.The scuba divers are some of the best trained in southern Africa and yet the country has less rivers and lakes than Zambia.The anatomy of warefare has changed and Zambia needs to keep up with the trend.

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