[The following is an extract of the speech delivered by Minister Albert Fritz at the launch of the Cape Town Drug Centre treatment site in Mitchells Plain today.]
Ladies and gentlemen good morning,
It is always great to see people of this province whether they are in government, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), the private sector or individuals in communities, taking initiative.
But before I continue, allow me to acknowledge the presence of;
- Ashley Potts – Director of the Cape Town Drug Counselling Centre
- Lorenzo Davids – Chairperson of the Community Chest.
As the provincial government we have a responsibility to tackle the grimy underworld which peddles the drugs. We equally have a responsibility to effectively regulate the sale of alcohol, and through our numerous campaigns, encourage the responsible consumption of it. We are placing greater emphasis on tackling alcohol abuse, especially given the terrible human cost and social ills it places on our province.
However the truth is government cannot do this alone.
If we are to truly make a greater dent, and rapidly reduce the harm caused by substance abuse, we need to adopt a whole-of-society approach.
DSD Interventions
The Department of Social Development’s public policy response to substance abuse is about achieving harm reduction. In my Budget Vote speech, which I delivered on Tuesday, I committed to our department continuing to expand our services to poor communities.
That is why over the last five years we have more than doubled our budget and this year have allocated R92.662-million to the Substance Abuse, Prevention and Rehabilitation sub-programme.
Our approach as government is to focus on;
- awareness,
- early intervention,
- statutory services and,
- after-care support programmes.
We have increased our services in the last 5 years from a mere 7 drug treatment and intervention sites to 24 sites around the province.
If we are to truly confront the crisis of drug and alcohol abuse and addiction, then we must continue to build partnerships, and expand service delivery areas. This is why I am proud to witness the opening of another drug treatment site. Well done to the Cape Town Drug Counselling Centre team for this wonderful achievement.
If we continue to work ‘Better Together’, we can bring real hope to sufferers of drug and alcohol addiction.
Child Treatment
A sad and concerning trend has been that of younger and younger people, even children, beginning to experiment with drugs and alcohol.
As a department, we have put in place various measures to address this.
The department has run successful pilot projects which provide treatment and brief interventions for school children in Eerste River and Mitchell’s Plain. Our plan is to now extend the project to Steenberg and Hout Bay, and we will continue to roll-out into other parts of the province.
As mentioned in my Budget Vote speech, the department will, for the first time, provide a substance abuse treatment programme for children and youth with acute substance dependency problems at De Novo Treatment Centre. This centre, situated in Kraaifontein, accommodates males between 16 – 17 years old.
We are also rolling out a substance abuse treatment programme at our Lindelani Child and Youth Care Centre in Koelenhof (Stellenbosch), which accommodates males and females between 13 – 15 years old.
These two programmes are additional inpatient substance abuse treatment programmes to those currently offered by the Department, and will help young people break free from their dependency on drugs and alcohol.
Matrix Clinic
I’m pleased to announce that a new Matrix Treatment Clinic is on the cards for Atlantis.
True to the spirit of partnership, the Matrix Clinics are a joint venture between the City of Cape Town, DSD and an NGO partner.
This clinic should be up and running within the next few months, bringing the number of Matrix sites to seven.
Conclusion
Ladies and gentlemen, in concluding here today, allow me to once again congratulate the Cape Town Drug Counselling Centre team on this new site. The years ahead will require hard work and commitment if we are to realize our goal to reduce the harm caused by substance abuse, and help more people beat their addiction.
We as a provincial government are determined to play our part and deliver, especially to women and youth. However as always, the key thing will be for us to adopt a whole-of-society approach, after-all success is best achieved “Better Together”.
