Africa-Press – Tanzania. PRESIDENT Samia Suluhu Hassan has described a successful completion of construction of phase-two of the National Defence College (NDC) as a symbol of enhanced cooperation between Tanzania and China on all aspects of development.
She made the statement on Sunday during the official handover of the NDC building of the Tanzania People’s Defence Forces (TPDF) at Kunduchi area, in Dar es Salaam.
The building was built under the support from the People’s Republic of China at a cost of 65.1bn/-, whereas China issued 57bn/- and the remaining 8.1bn/- was from the TPDF. The project started April 2019 and completed in August 2020.
“This building is a symbol of the unity among our two nations, China has been a good development partner for Tanzania, moreover, it is a result of a foundations that were built by our founding fathers the late Julius Kambarage Nyerere and Chairman Mao Zedong,” she explained, commending China for it’s continued support to Tanzania.
Speaking of the new NDC building, President Samia who doubles as the Commander-In-Chief of the armed forces said the new structure will increase the enrollment capacity from the current 40 to 100 officers at one go.
She said the new building should be a catalyst for offering programs that meet current and future needs for the greater interest of the country.
“NDC is a centre of excellence among East and Central African countries, the college is very important for our security and skills development to senior members of the army and other government officials,” she noted.
The President also commended NDC for providing short courses for local government officials, District and Regional Commissioners as well senior officials from Public institutions, saying the training are so useful for pushing forward development agenda without interfering with national security.
Going forward, President Samia who is also the Commander in Chief of the armed forces, urged the NDC to consider admitting trainee officers of the younger age for them to be able to utilize the attained skills for a long time.
“Instead of training officers who will serve two or three years before going into retirement, it’s better to train those of the younger age who will serve for a long time,” she said.
She also challenged the college to start offering Doctor of Philosophy (PhDs) programs, in addition to the current Bachelor and Masters degrees.
She also assured the army to work on their 7.8bn/- request to be spent on constructing residences of officers who will be trained at the college.
For More News And Analysis About Tanzania Follow Africa-Press
