Development, at the Imbizo on Substance Abuse, Magaliesoord Centre
10 April 2006
Programme Director,
MEC for Social Development,
The Honourable Mayor,
Distinguished guests,
Members of the community present here today,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Nature and extent of the drug problem
There are major challenges in rendering services to people who are abusing
substances, particularly with regard to the prevention, rehabilitation and
treatment of people who are abusing substances.
For many years we heard that the drugs that cause negative health and social
consequences were heroin and cannabis. Recently a dramatic increase in demand
for treatment for methamphetamine abuse was noted in Cape Town. This has spread
throughout the country, particularly among patients under 20 years of age.
Programme Director, the far-reaching implications of substance abuse should
not be under estimated. It is touching the roots of our society. For example
our child and family lives, criminal behaviour, HIV and AIDS infection,
poverty, unemployment and other forms of trauma, violence and other forms of
abuse, loss of productivity and in fact every facet of our social fabric.
Substance abuse has thus become a threat to the future of our society and it
necessitates our urgent attention.
Alcohol abuse is still by far the most popular drug of choice with the most
devastating consequences in terms of car accidents, un-natural deaths, domestic
violence, criminal behaviour, job losses and health related illnesses. This
adds to the growing demand for services and government depend on its partners
to assist in providing services to all our people.
In-patient treatment centres
There are approximately 80 treatment centres in South Africa of which 75 are
privately owned. The South African National Council on Alcoholism and Drug
Dependence (SANCA) delivers the majority of services in this focus area. There
are five state institutions one in Gauteng (this one), one in the Western Cape,
one in Mpumalanga and two in KwaZulu-Natal.
Some provinces have no in-patient treatment centres and services are often
non existent. Most of the treatment centres are in Gauteng (20), the Western
Cape (19) and KwaZulu-Natal (19). Not all treatment centres are registered.
Many illegal treatment centres are mushrooming all over the country. The actual
number of treatment centres could be much higher than the number mentioned.
The success rate of rehabilitating patients at treatment centres varies. The
recovery of heroin patients especially, is very challenging. Some treatment
centres have well trained professional staff and are offering good treatment
programmes whilst others mislead the public by offering services with little or
no professional staff. Treatment centres are not always accessible due to the
excessive high fees payable for in-patient treatment services.
The level of expertise in the country regarding the treatment of young drug
addicts is limited. The Department took the initiative in developing and
piloting a youth treatment model. Professionals from all provinces are now
undergoing training in the understanding and implementation of the model.
According to a recent survey, state institutions are not always fully
utilised although they provide quality services by a multi-disciplinary team of
professionals. The state subsidises a number of private institutions to improve
service delivery and to promote accessibility to these services.
Aftercare/re-integration services
The re-integration of patients back into their families and communities is a
vital phase in the recovery of drug patients. This phase is often neglected and
contributes to patients relapsing and falling into their old habits of drug
abuse.
When patients are referred for treatment in terms of a court order,
statutory aftercare services are obligated, but no statutory aftercare services
are rendered for patients admitted to treatment centres on a volunteer
basis.
The support and professional assistance to patients to reintegrate them into
their communities is crucial. Families, communities, faith-based organisations,
self help groups, aftercare social workers, friends and community leaders
should play a more active role to assist patients with their
re-integration.
The causes of patients relapses should be investigated and mechanisms be put
in place to improve the success rate of patients recovering from their drug
problems. Aftercare services are often neglected due a shortage of staff,
especially social workers, to provide the service. As a result of the wide
variety of responsibilities of social workers, aftercare services are often
neglected.
Ladies and gentlemen, the legislation governing services on the prevention
and treatment of substance abuse and rehabilitation is outdated and will be
reviewed during this financial year. It is important that we ensure all these
issues mentioned so far are considered in the review.
A zero draft Bill has already been consulted with all relevant stakeholders.
The new legislation will promote more community based services, place greater
emphasis on preventative services and will be more sensitive towards the needs
of children who are so often the victims of unscrupulous drug dealers.
Prevention of substance abuse
The proposed Bill on Substance Abuse places more emphasis on prevention as
it proved to be a more cost effective level of intervention. Various
stakeholders are involved in drug prevention initiatives either on an ongoing
or on an ad hoc basis.
Together, we must also ensure there is a shift in focus to targeting the
youth for our prevention of substance abuse programmes. The Ke Moja (No Thanks
Iâm Fine without Drugs) anti-drug campaign is a recent initiative targeting the
youth of South Africa. The national Department of Social Development took
charge of this initiative in partnership with the United Nations Office on
Drugs and Crime, the provinces and other relevant stakeholders.
A restricting factor, for the delivery of preventative services, is the
funding thereof. Most of the funding is allocated to in-patient treatment
services with little or no allocation for other services such as the prevention
of substance abuse.
Community based services
The government is challenged to ensure that drug related services are
provided in all the areas of South Africa and communities mobilised to take
care of their drug problems. Especially the remote areas are often under served
with little or no infrastructure.
The Bill on Substance Abuse places more emphasis on community based
interventions to ensure that communities take charge of their drug problems and
are capacitated to do so in an effective manner. We must start to develop
Community based intervention models. It is critical that local infrastructure,
skills and expertise be harnessed in developing these models. We have to look
at providing alternatives in terms of activities and programme to ensure
diversion from drug abuse.
Co-ordination of services
In line with international practices, the South African Government took the
initiative in establishing a Central Drug Authority. The Central Drug Authority
(CDA) is a statutory body in terms of the Prevention and Treatment of Drug
Dependency Act, No 20 of 1992. The Minister of Social Development has recently
appointed new members to serve on the CDA for the next five years. The
inauguration of the new CDA will take place later today.
The CDA is an inter-sectoral structure consisting of 12 drug experts and
representatives from various relevant national departments. The mandate of the
CDA is to assist Government in combating substance abuse in a co-ordinated
manner and within the framework of the National Drug Master Plan.
Ladies and gentlemen, I have spoken enough. The imbizo is the process where
we as government listen so that we can make services more accessible to all of
you. This imbizo is part of governmentâs efforts to stay in touch with our
communities and assess the delivery of services. This is so that we can create
a better life for all.
I thank you.
Issued by: Department of Social Development
10 April 2006
