Govt forges ahead with drugs fight

Richard Muponde

Zimpapers Politics Hub

The Government is forging ahead in the fight against drug and substance abuse, following the handover of Chitubu Clinic to the Seventh-day Adventist Church for the renovation of a drug rehabilitation centre.

President Mnangagwa has championed efforts to combat the scourge, which he has described as a menace to both the country and the region.

Speaking at the handover ceremony to the Colporteur Missionary Society under the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church this afternoon, Deputy Minister of Local Government Albert Mavunga emphasised the need for a Whole-of-Government and Whole-of-Society approach in tackling drug and substance abuse.

“The Government established the National Committee on Drug and Substance Abuse (NCDSA) in 2021 to address this scourge. The Committee is structured around seven pillars: supply reduction, demand reduction, harm reduction, treatment and rehabilitation, community reintegration, media and communications, legal and policy framework, and resource mobilisation,” said Deputy Minister Mavunga.

He noted that within the resource mobilisation pillar, the Colporteur Missionary Society has shown a strong commitment to supporting the Government’s efforts to mitigate drug and substance abuse.

“Notably, they have offered to assist in the renovation of three identified City of Harare rehabilitation centres, namely: Wilkins Opportunistic Infection (OI) Ward 2, the Zimbabwe Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse (ZIMCADA) Centre, and Chitubu Clinic,” he said.

“As we gather here today, we witness the formal handover of this facility for renovations to the Colporteur Missionary Society, which will provide services to both in-patients and out-patients affected by drug and substance abuse.”