Programme director, MEC for Social Development Dr Meshack Radebe
Honourable President, Mr Jacob Zuma
Premier of KwaZulu-Natal, Dr Zweli Mkhize
Members of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Substance Abuse
Members of Parliament and MECs responsible for social development
Chairperson and members of the Portfolio Committee on Social Development
Chairperson and members of the Select Committee on Social Services
Chairperson and members of the Central Drug Authority
Representatives of civil society and government
Ladies and gentlemen
It is my great pleasure, as host of the 2nd Biennial Substance Abuse Summit, to address you this morning. This Summit is a culmination of many days, weeks and months of hard work. At the outset, I wish to thank all institutions that were involved in organising this summit for the tremendous work they have done. These are the Summit Secretariat, he Central Drug Authority (CDA), provincial departments and civil society organisations that participated in the build up activities.
Ladies and gentlemen,
We are honoured to have with us His Excellency President of the Republic of South Africa, Mr Jacob Zuma and several Cabinet Ministers, including the members of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Substance Abuse. We are happy to have you join us at this significant meeting. We thank you for your continued leadership and your commitment to combating this pervasive and vexing social problem as demonstrated through your support for the national anti-substance abuse campaign.
A gathering of this nature should come as no surprise, given the impact of alcohol and substance abuse in our country. In South Africa in particular, the detrimental effects of alcohol and substance abuse are as broad and insidious as they are indisputable. Alcohol and substance abuse is a major contributor to crime, foetal alcohol syndrome, gender-based violence, poverty, dysfunctional family life and many other social ills.
Tackling this problem requires co-operative action between government and the support and involvement of all sectors of our society. In this regard, I am proud to say that the response of our government to this challenge has been impressive. There is consensus in our country that for us to successfully fight alcohol and substance abuse our efforts must involve more than government action.
We need a strategy that is balanced and comprehensive in three key areas: demand reduction; law enforcement; and supply reduction. This balanced approach is exemplified by the National Drug Master Plan (NDMP 2006-2011), which is being implemented by government and civil society organisations as coordinated by the CDA.
One cannot overemphasize the valuable work that CDA has and continues to do in coordinating the work of all stakeholders concerned with all aspects of drug control, so as to make a collective and balanced contribution to the critical work done in the country to counter alcohol and substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking.
I am confident that the discussions that will take place here over the next two days will prove instrumental in providing our government with a detailed plan of action to tackle alcohol and substance abuse in our country. We have every reason to be spurred into action because the future of our country is at stake. The presence here of a large number of distinguished delegates is a testament to the interest that this summit has generated among our people. They are waiting with keen interest the outcomes of this summit.
Ladies and gentlemen, in preparation for the summit, the Department of Social Development and the CDA resolved to bring to the fore the voices of communities through a door-door campaign and provincial summits. This gave us the opportunity to hear community views and proposals, which will be useful in our deliberations in this summit.
Our decision to involve communities is also informed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) Global Strategy, which calls for community action in measures to reduce the harmful effects of alcohol and substance abuse.
By engaging communities, we need to create a supportive environment where children and young people have opportunities to be involved in healthy activities and where substance abuse is not promoted by peers, family and other influential actors in the community. Alcohol and substance abuse is everybody's problem, and its solution is everyone's responsibility. The report and recommendations from the door-door campaign and provincial summits will be tabled at this summit for discussion and adoption.
This summit is especially important to me and to my colleagues in the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Substance Abuse. It is a vehicle through which we come together and share how we can reduce the prevalence of alcohol and substance abuse and its associated challenges of illegal liquor outlets, underage drinking, to name of few. It is for this reason that the deliberations of the summit will focus on four broad themes, namely policy and legislation, demand reduction, role of civil society and harm reduction.
Most importantly, this summit gives us a chance to compare notes, exchange information, discuss public policy developments related to alcohol and substance abuse and consider next steps which further our common purpose. Working together, we can accomplish much more than working alone.
It is in this spirit that I am confident and hopeful that we will be able to register significant progress at the end of our deliberations. I am indeed also looking forward to reflect with my ministerial colleagues and other high-level representatives on the outcomes of this summit. Honourable President, I would like to assure you that we will do our utmost best to ensure that this summit is action-oriented and that it would provide us with a clear roadmap to ensure the realization of a drug-free society.
I thank you for your time and look forward to fruitful deliberations over the next two days. On that note, it is now my pleasure to welcome and introduce to you, the President of the Republic of South Africa, the Honourable Mr Jacob Zuma, to deliver a keynote address.
I thank you.
