rehabilitation during the Youth Month Celebrations, Stonefountain College, Cape
Town
31 May 2006
On the eve of Youth Month, as we prepare to commemorate 30 years since the
student uprisings in 1976, it is correct that the Stonefountain College gathers
us here to support their programme of work among the youth.
The fact that their programme is centred on two of the most important
challenges facing youth, namely, skills and substance abuse, says to the
business sector that such programmes need to be supported. They have called me,
as Premier, to account to them how it is that we are fighting the scourge of
substance abuse, particularly drugs. This is reasonable given that the
Government of the Western Cape has committed itself to making this province a
âhome for allâ. It cannot be a home for all if it is not a drug free home for
our youth, and if it does not offer a future for our young people.
We also owe it to the youth of 1976, of 1980, 1985 and every generation of
young people who sacrificed themselves that we may today be free, that we
assist the youth for today to live fully free, and to anticipate the future,
not with the dread of unemployment, but with the excitement of those who are
prepared for the future.
It is indeed those who cannot see a future, those who are not certain about
tomorrow, who live today, taking shortcuts, making choices that jeopardise
tomorrow, and are not fortified against nihilism. It is such young people who
fall victim to diseases like HIV and AIDS, who fall victim to various
substances, teenage pregnancies, and disastrous subject choices. That such
youth are also trapped in poverty, surrounded by gangsterism, reared in
dysfunctional families and communities, and exposed daily to violence, mean
that their battles are harder and their needs are greater and more worthy of
our support.
Government is fully aware of the scale and depth of the problem confronting
the Western Cape. The Medical Research Council (MRC) has recently shared with
us the latest research on substance abuse and the youth:
1. 25% of those in drug treatment centres are under 20 years old.
2. One in five HIV patients met the criteria for alcohol abuse or substance
dependence.
3. Such dependence is also central to other problems such as risky sex, family
violence and academic failure.
4. Cannabis/Mandrax are still the most common illicit drugs, but since 2005,
methamphetamine or Tik has become the primary substance of abuse.
5. Almost six out of every 10 people arrested in 2000 tested positive for an
illegal drug, with the figure rising for crimes such as housebreaking.
6. 80% of teenage drinkers have been drunk at least once.
I mention these facts to you, not because you are not familiar with them,
but so that you know that I know, and because knowledge is the beginning of
action. It is too early to proclaim that we are winning. In fact we are only at
the start of putting in place a Drug Master Plan. It has to be a plan that can
cover the conveyor belt of substance abuse:
1. We must reduce demand by preventing young people from experimenting with
drugs and becoming addicted through awareness and healthy living alternatives.
The reintroduction of school sport and making it compulsory is one example of
our interventions.
2. We must reduce supply by acting harshly against those who sell drugs in our
communities and those who supply them through global cartels. Our additional
police, the high flyers programmes, and the use of Prevention of Organised
Crime Act (POCA) and tax laws are proving successful, except where witnesses
fear for their safety.
3. We must rehabilitate those addicted so that they can get out of the spiral
and do not fall deeper into crime to feed their addiction.
To kick-start the implementation of this plan we have significantly
increased our anti drug budget from R6,7 million to R15 million in this year.
It is too early to feel the effects, but this is a sign of our commitment, an
indication that the war is on and an investment that will grow and yield its
results in the medium term.
The impact of this financial investment will significantly increase the
treatment capacity of the public sector which currently stands at just under
300 patients. This should grow now so that the state can handle those who want
rehabilitation but cannot afford the private sector. R10 million will now be
available to support community-based organisations in the fight against drugs,
and government will use this leverage to make sure that such organisations will
use their resources where the needs are most. Of this money, R630 000 will be
used for Youth Prevention Campaigns.
Using police statistics, we have been able to identify the 10 worst affected
drug areas in the province. The scale of the challenge is such that traditional
methods of rehabilitation will not suffice. We need to shift from narrow
in-patient care to community-based care. We are working through an appropriate
model with the United Nations (UN) agency on drugs, but what we do know is that
it has to be multi-sectoral, and must be based on the training of community
members as rehab workers. 300 volunteers are being trained in the 10 areas.
To support such community initiatives, we must increase our network of
in-patient beds so that detoxification and other processes can occur. To this
end we are investing R2 m to open 60 such beds free to those who have made the
serious choice for rehabilitation.
Enquiries:
Shado Twala
Tel: (021) 483 5642
Fax: (021) 483 5636
E-mail: stwala@pgwc.gov.za
Issued by: Office of the Premier, Western Cape Provincial Government
31 May 2006
Source: Western Cape Provincial Government (www.capegateway.gov.za)
