Mat South Chiefs join fight against drug and substance abuse

Sione Amidu, Gwanda Correspondent

CHIEFS in Matabeleland South have applauded the Government’s efforts in curbing the drug and substance abuse scourge among youths and have underscored the need for a collective approach in dealing with the supply side.

They have called for stiffer penalties to those supplying drugs and lamented the spread of the social defect saying youths in rural areas are not spared either. The chiefs called on the police and communities to work together and arrest the drug and substance abuse menace in the country.

“We thank the Government for taking the fight to provinces, districts, wards and villages. At first it was an urban issue but it has spread like a wildfire into the rural areas. Our children are no more the future leaders that we used to look up to with hope. They are hooked on drugs and it’s a sorry sight. It’s even beyond teachers and the call for an all stakeholder approach can never be overemphasised. Let’s all declare zero tolerance on drugs and supply police with information on people supplying our children with the intoxicating substances that are making them zombies,” said Chief Masuku.

 

He said the drug and substance abuse menace was going to have a devastating impact on society and the economy at large if urgent action was not taken. Chief Masuku said they were joining hands with other stakeholders in working towards eradicating drug and substance abuse among the country’s youths.

“We need to mobilise all the communities against this ill practise. As traditional leaders, we had an engagement with different Government departments last week to find out what they are doing in their respective ministries to curb this,” he said.

Chief Nhlamba of Ntepe weighed in saying there was no room for bystanders in the fight against abuse of intoxicating substances mostly by young people. He urged parents to be on high alert for changes of behaviour in their children so as to quickly seek solutions.

“My plea is that we should work together to fight this menace. We need to encourage people to bring to light all cases so that we have proper statistics of people who are affected from where solutions will be proffered. I also call for the arrest of all the drug lords. There should be no sacred cows in this because these people are killing a whole generation, they are endangering our future leaders,” said chief Nhlamba.

He applauded the Government for its stance saying the country was on the right track in the fight against drug and substance abuse.

Chief Madlambuzi said the fight should start at the supply side and how some of the drugs ended up in the country through illegal means. He said it was worrying that some of the drugs were sold by people well known by the communities. 

A recent post-Cabinet briefing reported that a total of 468 (402 male and 66 female) offenders were arrested for drug and substance abuse countrywide. Out of the 468 offenders, 36 were suppliers who were referred to court, while 432 were drug users and consumers who were made to pay deposit fines. Police also intensified raids where various drugs were confiscated.