MORE than 10 000 villagers in Insiza District in Matabeleland South face eviction from their homesteads after the Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Water, Climate and Rural Resettlement issued them with eviction orders alleging that they were occupying the land illegally.

The affected area falls under Ward 22 in Insiza North constituency with all but a few homesteads in all 27 villages being ordered to vacate the area for illegally occupying the land.

The eviction has, however, seen the ruling Zanu-PF stepping in to seek dialogue, arguing that according to Government policy, evictions can only take place when the people have been given alternative places to move to and that the affected villagers had already invested a lot in the area with some having stayed there for more than 20 years.

In an interview with Sunday News yesterday, Zanu-PF Secretary for Administration, Dr Obert Mpofu said he had approached President Mnangagwa who had made it clear that the evictions should be stopped.

“It’s a sad situation honestly and as a party we are clear in saying that it is not allowed, the party does not accept it and the President has made it clear that it should not go ahead.

“When I first heard of the issue, I immediately spoke to President Mnangagwa who made it clear that whenever an eviction takes place, alternative accommodation should be identified for the villagers.

“In this instance some of these villagers have stayed there for over 20 years and they are not occupying areas that are environmentally not meant for resettlement, there is nothing wrong with where they settled at all, so as a party we are saying deal with the other problems but don’t evict these people because they have invested in the area and are contributing to the country’s fiscus through their agricultural activities,” said Mpofu.State media