Govt against demolition of houses

The Second Republic led by President Mnangagwa does not wish to see people’s homes demolished, but instead wants to see people with homes they would have lawfully acquired, legislators heard yesterday.

The law will, however, take its course on land barons who were evading gullible house searchers of their hard-earned money by unlawfully parcelling off land, according to Justice, Legal, and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi. This was stated by Minister Ziyambi at a National Assembly Q&A session. "President Mnangagwa opposes the demolition of dwellings. Minister Ziyambi stated, "Instead, he wants to see everyone with their house that would have been legally acquired."

Speaking about the country's food situation in light of the impending El Nino-induced drought, Minister Ziyambi stated that various measures would be put into place once the necessary process of studying the situation was completed. "We will be going area by area under a whole Government approach to identify the problems in a given area and the culprits," he said. "All those that want land must follow laid down procedures. We will go area by area analysing each situation prevailing in that area and we will then look at possible options."

When asked if genetically modified food would be accepted, Minister Ziyambi responded that while it was the government's goal to keep them out of circulation, this stance will be reevaluated until all relevant research on the subject was finished.

Minister of Public Service, Labor, and Social Welfare July Moyo announced that the government will offer social protection programs to shield those in need from the effects of the drought. The government was still doing assessments to identify those who were at risk. "We know there will be an increase in food insecure families.Minister Moyo stated, "We are currently studying the situation to determine response mechanisms," and that no family will go hungry.

Parliament has heard that the monies allocated by the Basic Education Assistance Module for the school fees of children who are vulnerable will be computed in US dollars and converted to local currency on the payment date in order to maintain value. Primary and Secondary Education Minister Torerai Moyo informed the National Assembly during a Question and Answer Session yesterday that the funds will be disbursed to schools at the current interbank rate. Since then, according to Minister Moyo, they have begun paying BEAM costs while the government works to pay off all outstanding arrears.

"We've already begun distributing the funds for BEAM. Minister Moyo stated, "We have begun paying off the arrears from last year and will shortly be covering this year as well. The currency is now indexed to the US dollar in order to protect against inflation. It's a good thing that it will be paid using the current interbank rate. Lawmakers were also concerned about the fact that the majority of BEAM students were not able to see their results because schools were withholding them due to the government's non-payment. According to Minister Moyo, schools must make all results publicly available even in cases when they are not paid.

It is unlawful to withhold results for any purpose. Schools are required to release the findings as soon as they are available, he added. According to Minister Moyo, the government is examining response plans for students who might be impacted by the drought brought on by El Nino. The government knew that more students would be at risk and would need support with their schooling. July Moyo, the minister of public service labor and social welfare, agreed, stating that the government would offer social protection measures to everyone who required them. "We know there will be an increase in food insecure families.

"We run a BEAM system in education, and we will support anyone requesting government assistance." We are still in the process of estimating the number of persons who will require assistance," he stated. According to Minister Ziyambi, the government is currently determining how much food will be required to weather the drought.