Chronicle Editor
Yoliswa Dube-Moyo, Matabeleland South Bureau Chief
There is a rising substance and drug abuse problem among the youth in Nswazi, Umzingwane District, Matabeleland South Province, with the local leadership calling for urgent action to end the surge.
Speaking during a meeting on the impact of illegal mining on women, Ward 6 Councillor Amanda Khumalo said the increase in substance and drug abuse among the youth in the area was worrying.
“There are community members who are supplying the youths with drugs. I don’t know where the youths are getting the other drugs like crystal meth and broncho from, but as for marijuana, there are many people who are selling it and they justify themselves by saying selling drugs is their source of income and they use the money to buy food and pay school fees for their children.
They say they won’t stop selling ‘njengu’ or ‘tototo’ because that’s where their income comes from,” said Clr Khumalo. She said the use of drugs in the community has had a damaging effect on the behaviour of the youths in the area.
“What’s sad is that the people who sell these drugs have disciplined children but they don’t hesitate to cause harm to other people’s children.
They actually show their children the drugs and substances they sell and warn them against using them. They explain to them that they’re into the business in order to earn a living,” said Clr Khumalo.
She said drugs like marijuana are not grown in the district, but peddlers source it from other areas. Health and Child Care Deputy Minister Dr John Mangwiro recently told Senators that the country is experiencing a new wave of drug abuse as youths were taking hard drugs like crystal meth, cocaine and heroin.
Ingutsheni Central Hospital, which is one of the country’s biggest referral psychiatric medical centres, said if society does not act now, the country could lose a lot of youths to drugs. Ingutsheni Central Hospital clinical director Dr Wellington Ranga said if the drug problem is a war, the country is losing it.
“Drug use is basically a reflection of how society is functioning. I sometimes call it psychopathology as it is now, they are generally on the increase in the community.
The younger generation is the one that is now abusing them. The situation is getting out of control and what is worrying is the type of drugs that are being abused,” said Dr Ranga.
“It’s no longer the traditional beer or cannabis we are used to, but they are now adding a few other things. The school going age is abusing broncho and it is smuggled from South Africa mainly. We are having crystal meth on top of the cocaine and heroin which are also on the market as well.” He said most of the patients they attend to are males.
“In terms of admissions, we have teenagers up to the early 20s. Those ones when they come here, they would have lost it. On a monthly basis we are getting at least 40 to 50 patients. But by age up to 40 percent are drug users of which most of them are males.”
Dr Ranga said what the hospital has observed is that drug abusers are aware of the dangers posed by the substances they are taking but take them just to fit in social circles.
“We need to sort out our community structure. If you noticed, the drug abuse problem is coming from home. When you look at their homes, some of them are coming from broken families.
This thing of saying let’s conscientise people about drugs is not taking us anywhere especially when the situation at home is not attended to, it will not work,” said Dr Ranga.
He said institutionalisation of drug addicts is not a solution as they relapse when they return to their homes after being hospitalised.
Dr Ranga said police should step up efforts to rid society of drug dealers. – @Yolisswa
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