Zambia Army Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff Major General Jackson Miti has said the Zambia Army has adopted an equipment sustenance system of maintaining and refurbishing already existing equipment in order to preserve core capabilities and remain prepared for future challenges.

During a presentation at the 18^th International Armoured Vehicles conference held at Twickenham Stadium in London UK on how the Zambia Army sustains, maintains and updates its armour capabilities Major General Miti said, most African Governments do not have the financial capacity to equip their armies with up-to-date technologies therefore it was imperative that militaries try by all means to maintain the equipment they already have on inventories in a good state of repair.   

He informed the conference that the Zambia Army maintains armoured vehicles systems through repair and replacement of old or unserviceable components and sub-systems with serviceable or new ones.

“Equipment maybe easy to maintain when it is still new but as it gets older and the frequency of serving and repairing it increases, associated costs also arise. It is however, cost effective and more affordable to sustain existing equipment by refurbishing and maintaining it than purchasing new systems. This way we can also sustain our capacity at a lesser cost. In line with this, the Zambia Army has adopted an equipment sustenance system of maintaining and refurbishment,” he said.

The Deputy Army Commander said a good refurbishment and maintenance system can help build the capacity to seal multiple capability gaps whenever they emerge using equipment or technologies that already exist and which are both cost-effective and affordable. 

And the Deputy Army Commander also paid a courtesy call on Zambia’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom His Excellency Mr. Muyeba Chikonde at Zambia House on Wednesday.