Natalie Nyathi,
Business Reporter
The President Emmerson Mnangagwa has appointed Winnie Mandeya the first female Air Force of Zimbabwe Air Vice Marshal.
Mandeya made history as she took the oath of office in the Zimbabwe’s Defence Forces as the first woman to reach the rank of Air Vice Marshal, a rank equivalent to that of Major General in land forces.
As she assumed her new role, Mandeya committed herself to work for the well-being of Zimbabweans, especially on issues affecting women’s empowerment and inclusion.
President Mnangagwa made the promotion in terms of the Defence Act, which gives the President as Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces the right while acting on the advice of the Defence Minister who is advised by the air force commander, to promote or temporarily appoint an officer to a higher rank.
AVM Mandeya said it was impressive to note that the ZDF was walking the talk in the upliftment of women in all spheres of development.
“It should be our combined endeavor to sustain growth of women involvement and ensure that it is socially inclusive. We must ensure that every section of our society, particularly the disadvantaged, are equal partners in, and beneficiaries of the development process,” Said Mandeya on her promotion.
She later added:
“I am fully aware of the great responsibilities placed on my humble shoulders. I will continue to do the best like I have done before,” she said.
In a related story, a Zimbabwean female nurse, Rutendo Zvidza from Bulawayo’s Nkulumane suburb now residing in Namibia has raised the Zimbabwean flag higher. She had opened another nurse training school in Namibia, in a city called Rundu which
is the capital of the Kavango region in north-eastern Namibia’s second largest city.
Zvidza moved to Namibia in 2013 to work as a nurse and established her first nurse training school in Windhoek, Namibia’s capital.
Her nursing school, PMT Healthcare Institute in Windhoek, accepted its first class of students in January 2021 for a Diploma in Nursing Science and Midwifery.
The students are expected to graduate early next year.
Zvidza said the new training center in Rundu will start classes in March 2023.
She said:
“PMT Health Care Institute has expanded to another town, Rundu, which is about 800km away from Windhoek.”
These two women are amongst the many in Zimbabwe and the diaspora that are finding their ways in the echelons of success