General Davis Mwamunyange, the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF)

Responsible officers at army headquarters are working on disputed records of military personnel whose school certificates have been queried by the National Identification Authority (NIDA), with chances that legal actions will be taken if the suspicions are validated.

General Davis Mwamunyange, the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), told a mainly military audience yesterday that disputed or forged school certificates was not only an army or police problem but it is spread in various departments of the civil service.

The military is systematically examining certificates of its staff to find out whether there are forgeries accepted by the force during recruitment, he said while closing a five-day seminar meant for capacity building, involving 30 members of the board of directors and management of the National Defence College.

“The school certificate scam was not well addressed and it immediately made headlines in different media outlets…NIDA informed us and we have started working on the matter to ensure it doesn’t happen again,” he said.

Elaborating on the founding of the National Defence College, Gen. Mwamunyange said it was grounded in the need to bringing together executives from defence and security departments, public and private sector security operators along with the civilian authorities to compare notes on how to promote and protect the country’s peace and security.

He urged youths wishing to join the army to measure their patriotism, as to whether they can protect the country against threats facing it, not personal interest and enhancing one’s economic status.

Dr Benson Bana, head of the Political Science Department at the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) and a participant in the seminar applauded the creation of the interdepartmental defence college, saying that since the adoption of multiparty politics in 1992, there was increasingly a dearth of institutions for the formation of committed and patriotic leadership. He cited the Kivukoni College in the past and the National Service programme as pioneer institutions which championed good leadership, patriotism, fostering the spirit of public ethics and socialist commitment.

Major General Sylvester Ryoba, director of the Disaster Relief Unit at the Prime Minister’s Office, described the founding of National Defence College as a key measure in eliminating corrupt leaders.

Corruption has been a big challenge in the country, contributing a lot in the lack of moral leadership among executives at various levels, he stated. Major General Charles Makakala, the college commandant said only directors and head of offices nominated by the Ministry of Defence and National Service will be enrolled for different courses at the college, with training slated to start early September. The college will seek to attain international standards, while plans to hold exchange and training programmes with countries having similar colleges are already in the pipeline. “The establishment of this college is intended to improve teaching curricula and techniques at existing military training facilities to meet the current demands,” the commandant indicated.