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Cletus Mushanawani
News Editor
As the drugs and substance abuse menace continues to take root across the country, especially among the youths, Government is leaving no stone unturned in its vicious fight against the scourge and has said there are no sacred cows in dealing with drug cartels, peddlers and abusers.
Various intervention measures are already being rolled out, including a revisit of the country’s laws to ensure that mandatory deterrent sentences are handed down to offenders.
Former Covid-19 isolation centres are also being converted into rehabilitation centres, while a national committee on drugs and substance abuse which is chaired by the Minister of Defence, Cde Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, has also been set up.
A national technical committee on drugs and substance abuse chaired by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, Mr Simon Masanga, has also been set up; as well as provincial, district and ward committees.
All the initatives seek to cut the supply of illicit drugs and substances, reduce demand of the drugs, ensure access to treatment and rehabilitation services and promote the successful reintegration of drug users into society.
Law enforcement agents have gone a gear up in dealing with the scourge and from January to date, 183 people in Manicaland have been arrested for various offences involving drugs.
Drugs worth $34 344 100 have been recovered in the province so far.
Addressing the Manicaland provincial committee on drugs and substance abuse on Sunday, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister, Dr Jenfan Muswere said the scourge is one of the top-ranking disasters wreaking havoc across the world, adding that Zimbabwe has not spared.
“Recent studies done in Zimbabwe revealed that an estimated 7.1 percent of young people abuse drugs, with the most prevalent drugs being cannabis, crystal meth, broncleer, skin lighteners, illicit beverage and body enlargement products. Children as young as 10 years old are now engaging in drugs and substance abuse.
“Just like Covid-19, drugs and substance abuse has affected our nation and in particular the mental health of our most productive age group. It is against this background that in April 2022, His Excellency, President Mnangagwa, established the inter-ministerial taskforce to address this menace. Due to the severity of the matter, the inter-ministerial taskforce was elevated to the national committee,” said Dr Muswere.
He said President Mnangagwa’s message on bringing all drugs and substance abusers to book is very clear.
“We call upon the police to arrest all those found in possession of drugs regardless of their social standing in life. Anyone using, distributing or is part of the drugs syndicates should be arrested without fear or favour.
“Police roadblocks targetting drug traffickers should also be intensified. Police should enlist the services of sniffer dogs to flush out these criminals.
“The courts should ruthlessly deal with all offenders. We are working on the legislation dealing with drugs so that all offenders will be convicted using the appropriate legislation. The moment the courts make a major conviction of big peddlers, this will expose more cartels as people will have confidence in the justice delivery system and will come on board as whistle blowers.
“Let us have deterrent mandatory sentences for offenders, not fines. We must bear in mind that these offenders are destroying a whole generation, hence the call for stiffer penalties,” said Dr Muswere.
He also called upon the media to expose all those involved in drug peddling without fear and favour.
“Drugs are not a natural disaster like Cyclone Idai that you cannot control. This is a man-made problem that can be dealt with by our security forces. This should not take us more than three months to deal with because we know where they sell the drugs and who is involved. As a community, we can join hands in the fight by naming and shaming all those involved in drug peddling.
“The media should also take an active role in exposing the drug lords and also act as whistle blowers. For us to achieve economic growth, we need active young members of the society to contribute towards nation building. The moment these youngsters are destroyed by drugs, nation building will be stalled.
“We need to take this seriously and address this man-made scourge. We will leave no stone unturned as we endeavour to destroy all these networks, the clientele base and everyone associated.
“Everyone, be it a politician, civil society or civil servant involved in this menace should be brought to book. If you have any challenges of big guns claiming to be above the law, contact us so that we can expose everyone involved in this,” said Minister Muswere.
He added: “Manicaland is used as a drug conduit due to its proximity to Mozambique, but let us work together to destroy these syndicates because the drugs are affecting everyone. Today can be him or her, tomorrow your child or someone else’s child will fall victim to this scourge.
“By not taking any action, we will be destroying the society, so it is up to us to deal with this issue and rise to the challenge. Everyone should be involved in this fight. The most affected are youths below the age of 35, so if we do not act, it means we will not have the best engineers, doctors, technicians and experts in various fields.”
Dr Muswere also called for the utilisation of Covid-19 isolation facilities to help in rehabilitating drug abusers.
At the provincial referral hospital, the Victoria Chitepo Provincial Hospital, a rehabilitation centre is still in the process of being established.
However, psychotherapists and mental health nurses are already attending to drug users in need of rehabilitation through the outpatients department.
From January to date, a total of 36 people in Manicalad have been rehabilitated, mostly in private institutions, and they have been successfully reintegrated into society.
Awareness campaigns have reached 252 123 people across the province.
The Minister of State for Manicaland Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Advocate Misheck Mugadza said Manicaland, just like all the other provinces across the country, is seized with fighting drug and substance abuse.
“The task ahead of us is huge and a lot of work has to be done. As a province, there is no doubt that we will be equal to the task. Drug and substance abuse is negatively impacting our social fabric and the province’s economic development.
“As a province and the nation at large, we are fully committed to eliminating the drug and substance abuse menace,” said Minister Mugadza.
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