Programme director, Mr Thuso Motaung
Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Ms Hlengiwe Mkhize
MEC for Health and Social Development, Mme Sisi Ntombela
Executive Mayor of Fezile Dabi District
UNODC Representatives
Chairperson and Members of the Central Drug Authority
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen
Dumelang, sanibonani, molweni, good morning.
Bomme le borre ba Sasolburg, Le kae?
It gives me great pleasure to be part of this important and exciting gathering in which we commemorate the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking under the theme: “Global Action for healthy communities without drugs”.
The United Nations General Assembly in its resolution 42/112 of 7 December 1987 declared 26 June as the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. The purpose of commemorating this day is to create greater public awareness and coordinated national and global effort to combat the scourge of substance abuse, which has become a global problem.
Ladies and gentlemen,
We meet here today cognisant that June is Youth Month, in remembrance and celebration of the invaluable contributions that youth have played, and continue to play in our country. Equally, we use this month to intensify our efforts and concentrate our energy on factors confronting our youth today.
Key among these challenges is the growing problem of substance abuse among our young people in communities throughout the country.
The magnitude of the drug problem in our country, particularly among young people is a cause for major concern and poses serious challenges for the future of our country. Justifiably so, if you consider that children, as young as 10 years old, are experimenting with alcohol and drugs. Increasingly, the schools have become the primary place for drug sales as an increasing number of young people across the country become drug users.
The United Nations World Drug Report (2010) shows that the abuse of hard drugs such as heroine, cocaine, methamphetamine (known as “tik” or “nyaope” by youngsters), etc, has reached alarming levels. There is no reason to believe that this problem will be resolved, if we do not take collective action now.
Parents and community leaders, South Africa is facing a national crisis, which demand a community and national response. I therefore find the theme of this year’s commemoration very relevant and appropriate.
To date, our country has the highest number of methamphetamine users in the world, especially among people under the age of 20 years, with the highest number recorded in the Western Cape.
Dagga and alcohol are still the most abused substances in South Africa. Estimates are that more than 2, 2 million people use dagga, followed by cocaine, heroin, ecstasy, and other substances. Data from the South African National Youth Risk Behaviour Survey show that alcohol consumption Free State is one of the provinces with high levels of alcohol abuse. A door-door campaign conducted in the five districts of this province show that most families and communities are affected by alcohol and substance abuse.
We chose to commemorate this event here in Sasolburg because data from health services shows that in this area alone, 372 people utilise out-patient treatment centres for alcohol and substance abuse. Honourable MEC and Executive Mayor, you will agree with me that this number is highly unacceptable and we need to attend to this matter urgently, first by strengthening Local Drug Action Committees throughout the province.
You will also agree with me that fighting the scourge of substance abuse and illicit trafficking cannot be the responsibility of police or government alone. For this reason, I call on parents, teachers and community leaders and ordinary members of this community to join us in the war against alcohol and substance abuse.
Experience has shown that for us to successfully combating the drug problem, we must strengthen three complementary elements. These are supply reduction through law enforcement, demand reduction through prevention strategies and harm reduction through treatment, rehabilitation and social support programmes.
To address all three key elements, Cabinet has established the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) tasked with the responsibility to address substance abuse-relates issues in a coordinated and comprehensive manner. One of the key activities of the IMC was the hosting of the second Biennial Anti-Substance Abuse Summit that was held in March this year.
The summit made a number of key resolutions which key amongst others include review of existing legislations to ensure that there is one common approach to combat the scourge of alcohol and substance abuse. To ensure the implementation of the summit resolutions, the Technical Committee has developed a Programme of Action which was approved by the IMC last week. This Programme of Action will be presented to Cabinet this financial year.
In line with international practices, the South African Government took the initiative in establishing a Central Drug Authority (CDA). 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 coordinated manner and within the framework of the National Drug Master Plan.
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 will soon appoint new members to serve on the CDA for the next five years. I therefore call on South Africans to participate in the process by nominating new members of the CDA. In line with the resolutions of the second Biennial Anti-Substance Abuse Summit, we will also review the National Drug Master Plan during the course of the current financial year.
I would like to take this opportunity to applaud our country’s law enforcement agencies in their role against in fighting illicit trafficking at major ports of entry into our country.My department has developed the National Drug Master Plan 2006 to 2011. The Plan acknowledges the significant contribution of various departments and agencies, which are represented in the Central Drug Authority, a regulatory body set up to assist government in combating substance abuse in within the framework of the National Drug Master Plan.
The National Drug Master Plan places particular emphasis on educating young people and their parents, about the negative effects of illicit drugs. The main objective of the National Drug Master Plan is to combat substance abuse through prevention, early intervention, treatment and re-integration services. The emphasis on prevention is informed by the fact that children are exposed to drugs at a young age. Particular attention is given to interventions that target young people to equip them with life skills.
As government, we want to ensure that the abundant talent among our young people is used as a key intervention and empowerment tool for young people. It is for this reason that we encourage our young people to explore their talents and use them for the benefits of their families and communities, and also to empower other young people. We remain vigilant and we will heighten awareness campaigns to prevent undue exposure to drugs, particularly among the young people. It gives me great pleasure to see so many young people and their parents participating in this campaign.
Parents and community leaders, I want to make a special call to you all today to participate in community structures such as the Community Policing and Substance Abuse Forums to help law enforcement agencies to deal with criminals benefiting from illegal drugsin our society. If we see this things happening in our communities, if we know drug lords in our communities and still choose to remain silent, we become partners in their illegal activities. We can only build healthy and drug-free communities if we:
- Get to know the facts about drugs
- Make it easy for your children to talk to you and know their friends
- Talk to your children about drugs. If you don’t, they might get wrong information and bad influence from other people
- Spend time with your children. Remember no other person can have a greater influence on your child than his/her parents
I would like to emphasise that every citizen, young and old, has a role to play in the fight against alcohol and substance abuse. We urge all citizens to treat substance and drug abuse as serious matters. Known drug dealers must be reported to the police.
Young children and adults who abuse alcohol and drugs must be helped to stop the habit and to return their lives to normality. Most importantly, families must confront the problem of denial which perpetuates the scourge.
As government we use this day and other platforms such as the Ke moja-I’m fine without drugs” campaign to call on young people of our country to never allow them to be used by drug lords and drug cartels as tools of violence and family destruction. Our young people should never allow themselves to be used as criminal elements in the commitment of crimes such as drug peddling and trafficking.
By commemorating this day, we aim to raise awareness of the major problem that substance abuse and illicit drugs represent to our society. No individual, family or community is safe where alcohol and substance abuse take control. Through the anti-substance abuse campaign, we want to inspire our young people and mobilise community support to combat alcohol and substance abuse.
Our government will continue to work with various levels of government, community groups, non-governmental organisations and international partners as we implement the National Drug Master Plan and work towards building better, safer and healthier communities.
I call on and challenge everyone here today to create an on-going awareness and consciousness about the dangers of alcohol and drug abuse amongst the people of this beloved country. Let us together to take drastic steps and measures as a matter of priority to arrest the scourge of alcohol and substance abuse.
Together, we can help our young people make healthy and smart choices. Let us all encourage them to stay alert, to stay engaged, and to take full advantage of every opportunity that our government has to offer them.
Ke a leboga.
Source: Department of Social Development
