Online Reporter
Thupeyo Muleya, Beitbridge Bureau
Local Government and Public Works Minister Daniel Garwe has said the Government will not relent on its ban on the imports of bales of second-hand clothes and night vending of the same in urban settlements to deal with the menacing scourge of drug peddling.
He said intelligence information had revealed that the drug peddlers were now importing contraband concealed in second-hand bales.
He said they sell mostly to the youths who are usually active at night.
Minister Garwe who is chairman of the Resource Mobilisation Pillar under the National Committee on Drugs and Substance, said the Government can no longer watch as drug peddlers take over the streets.
“We are taking the war on drugs and substance abuse to the grassroots level to the wards and villages,” said Minister Garwe.
He was speaking during the handover of 20 motorbikes for the local councillors to increase mobility and the monitoring of capital projects to drive development in the district.
“You will realise that drugs and substance abuse is affecting mostly the age group between 18 and 40 years and these are usually active at night. We cannot let it go on as responsible leaders,” said the Minister.
“So we have discovered that the drug peddlers are now bringing the contraband concealed in bales of second-hand clothes, which they sell as a cover to sell drugs to community members at night.
“To put a stop to this vice, we have banned the imports and night vending of such clothes. Honestly speaking, which normal person would wake up to do some shopping at night? At the same time, the same second-hand clothes have also been linked to the import and spread of bed bugs (tshikidzi) in our communities”.
Minister Garwe said the sale of drugs had become a threat to national security and the future of Zimbabwe and that each province has been tasked to raise US$250 000 to enhance the fight against the prevailing scourge.
He said the Government, through the national committee on drugs and substance, chaired by Defence Minister Oppha Muchinguri-Kashiri was not giving up on the fight.
The Minister said ending drugs and substance abuse takes a whole community’s efforts and called on all Zimbabweans to play a role.
“We need to change our mindset as Zimbabweans if we are to win this war against drugs and substance abuse,” said Minister Garwe.
“In addition, we are setting up rehabilitation centres for those already hooked centres countrywide in all 92 local authorities. The use of drugs and the youths, is threatening our country’s future and our realisation of the Vision 2030”.
He said besides providing a fertile ground for criminal vices, the imports and sale of second hand clothes had collapsed the cotton industry and manufacturing sector.
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