Malawi army chief hails UK for military training
Malawi Defence Force (MDF) commander, General Henry Odillo has thanked the British Government for sponsoring the Managing Defence in a Wider Security Context (MDWSC) course currently underway in Salima.
“My thanks go to Her Majesty’s Government of the United Kingdom for sponsoring the course as part of f its Africa Conflict Prevention Pool Security sector reform,” said General Odillo, at the Malawi Armed forces College (MAFCO), during the opening of the course on Monday.
He said the training, which has attracted military delegates from southern African countries, will help soldiers manage riots.
“The training will expose soldiers to modern ways of handling problems that emerge due to political upheavals,” he said.
“Armed forces should be able to meet today’s as well as future challenges; to be professional and apolitical, while providing maximum support for government policies,” Odillo said.
He said the two weeks course outline is focused on the management and governance of defence in a democracy.
Britain acting Charge d’Affaires, Keith Scott said that security is a collaborative effort involving all people and not military personnel only and said MDWSC are seen as part of a broad collaborative approach to security in the region.
“Security is a collaborative effort. It is not the sole responsibility of the men and women in uniform,” said Scot.
Scott also welcomed the fact that Britain is playing a leading role in assisting the SADC in its regional approach to security.
This year, the course which has drawn military and civilian participants from Namibia, Zambia, Botswana and Malawi will cover such areas as governance, the media, transparency and accountability and civil-military relations and will end on 16 September 2011.
