Mpumalanga Community Safety, Security and Liaison MEC Vusi Shongwe has called on the police to curb the problem of dagga planting and trading in Khethomthandayo, a township outside Piet Retief following a discovery of dagga plants in one of the residential areas.
The discovery was made at two houses last week Friday, 29 December 2013 during a door to door visit to assess service delivery in the Mkhondo Municipality. The exercise was part of the Executive Council Outreach Programme coordinated by Office of the Premier.
Shongwe, who was accompanied by ward councillors and representatives from the provincial government, immediately ordered the removal of marijuana plants at both houses, saying drugs destroy lives and that nobody has a right to plant and trade in marijuana.
“We cannot have people planting marijuana in their yards when they could be planting fruits and vegetables to feed their families. That cannot happen in a progressive society. The police must immediately deal with such challenges in our society,” disappointed Shongwe said.
The MEC further learnt that some of the residents in the area do not have identity books (IDs) and birth certificates and this would make it impossible for them to apply for social grants and even admission in schools among others. He has therefore called on the Department of Home Affairs to urgently intervene in that regard.
The MEC has further called on the municipality to make further analysis on the housing needs in the area and he has also called on South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) to consider delivering more food parcels to the needy communities in the area.
According to the MEC, there is also a need for government to engage private land owners in the municipality to obtain land that could be utilised for building houses in order to reduce housing backlogs in Mkhondo Municipality because government cannot build houses in privately owned land.
The team donated food parcels to twelve houses in various wards at houses identified by the Department of Social Development.
Enquiries:
Joseph Mabuza
Cell: 082 678 1450
Tel: 013 766 4055
