THE National Committee on Drug and Substance Abuse is determined to achieve the mandate given by Cabinet and will leave no stone unturned in its fight against drug and substance abuse, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Dr Jenfan Muswere has said.
Addressing the Manicaland provincial committee on drug and substance abuse in Mutare, Dr Muswere, said drug and substance abuse was now one of the top-ranking disasters wreaking havoc in many societies across the world and Zimbabwe was not spared.
Recent studies done in Zimbabwe revealed an estimated 7,1 percent of young people abuse drugs, with the most prevalent drugs being cannabis, crystal meth, broncleer, skin lighteners, illicit beverages and body enlargement products. “Children as young as 10-years-old are now engaging in drug and substance abuse,” said Dr Muswere.
“Just like Covid-19, drug 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, chaired by Defence Minister and national chairman of our ruling party, ZANU PF, Honourable Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, with a clear mandate to curtail the supply of illicit drugs and substances, reduce demand and harm of the same in people, ensuring access to treatment and rehabilitation services and promote the successful reintegration of people who use drugs into society.
“The National Committee is diverse and includes Government ministries, departments and agencies, traditional leadership, religious organisations,development partners, private sector, donor agencies, academia, to name but a few. It uses the whole-of-society approach as this has been rendered the most effective intervention where we leave no place and no one behind.”
Dr Muswere said the recent drug and substance abuse trends were a cause of concern and called for extraordinary response from all stakeholders to arrest the menace which have a devastating impact on the society and the economy at large if urgent action was not taken.
“I want to applaud you all for your dedication and commitment to this programme and I urge you all to leave no stone unturned in our quest for a drug-free society that will form the bedrock for our national vision of attaining a prosperous and empowered upper middle income society by 2030 as enunciated by President Mnangagwa,” he said.
“The National Committee will continue to provide support to your structures.”
The National Committee on Drug and Substance Abuse is chaired by Minister Muchinguri Kashiri, who is deputised by Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister Kazembe Kazembe.
The National Technical Committee on Drug and Substance Abuse is chaired by the Permanent Secretary for Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Mr Simon Masanga and deputised by Permanent Secretary for Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Ambassador Raphael Faranisi.
The National Coordinator on drugs and substance abuse is Dr Agnes Mahomva.
The provincial committee on Drug and Substance Abuse are chaired by the Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution.
The district committees are chaired by the district development coordinator, while the ward committees are chaired by chiefs, Dr Muswere said.
The implementation of the drug and substance abuse programmes evolved around six thematic pillars: supply reduction, demand reduction, harm reduction, treatment and rehabilitation, community reintegration and psycho-social support, and media and communication and resource mobilisation.
“The way the pillars are structured is a clear indication of the commitment of the Second Republic in ensuring the health and psycho-social well-being and development of our nation by attending to every detail in curtailing the menace,” said Dr Muswere.
“The terms of reference for the pillars have already been shared. Provincial committees are expected to ensure that all the pillars are activated down to the village or community level with particular focus on the following cascading structures to the sub-provincial level, public awareness and information dissemination, arresting and prosecution of offenders, resource mobilisation for drug and substance abuse programming, establishment of stand alone drug and substance abuse rehabilitation centres, provision of psycho-social support and community reintegration services, situational analysis of the province and making recommendations and submission of activity report weekly.”
The need for reporting cannot be over-emphasised as our hard work can only be reflected through these reports.
All committees from the ward to the province are expected to meet every week and submit activity reports to national level prior to the National Technical Committee meetings which are conducted on Thursdays.
Minister of State for Manicaland Provincial Affairs and Devolution Advocate Misheck Mugadza said Manicaland, like all the other provinces, was seized with the issue of drug and substance abuse.
“The task ahead of us is huge and a lot of work has to be done,” he said. “As a province,there is no doubt that we will be equal to the task since it is a known fact that drug and substance abuse is negatively impacting on the social fabric of the society and the economic development of this province.
“Let me assure you that we are fully committed to eliminate the drug and substance abuse menace. The support from the National Committee to deal with the matters of policy intervention and resource availability cannot be over-emphasised if we are to achieve our goal as a province and the nation at large.’’
Source Zimbabwe Situation
