Deputy Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage, Michael Madiro, has declared that government does not have any facility to register street kids.
This came after enquiries from Members of Parliament regarding the issue of registration of street kids.
There was concern over measures being put in place by Government in order to register street kids, so that they do not become internally displaced persons.
Some felt as long as they are not quantified, they do not have birth certificates.
“We do not have a practice or policy of going out to register street kids,” he Madiro told Parliamentarians on Wednesday.
Madiro said can government only responds to those who come to request personal documents.
“As far as facilitation is concerned, if the relevant Ministry maybe Social Welfare, they come forward for a special programme that may be considered but otherwise as Government, we respond to those who come forward requiring those personal documents,” he said.
However Minister of Justice Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Ziyambi Ziyambi maintained that government is responsible for the welfare of street kids..
“The Government always endeavors to ensure that we promote the existence of families so that we do not have street kids but once we have those socially disadvantaged in the streets, then the Government will ensure that the social services structure will come into play to help them but the best way to do is to ensure that the integrity of the family is maintained,” he said.
Meanwhile, the government faces a wide variety of difficult economic problems as it struggles with an unsustainable fiscal deficit, an overvalued official exchange rate, and hyperinflation which continues to push many into street life.