abuse
23 February 2009
The MEC for the Gauteng Department of Community Safety, Firoz Cachalia, has
today, Monday, 23 February 2009, honoured about 300 young Gauteng volunteers
for attending and successful competition of an intensive training on the
substance abuse prevention programme.
The programme is part of the provincial crime prevention strategy to reduce
crime, especially which result from substance abuse such as intake of drugs,
alcohol and other illegal substance. The recipients included, amongst others,
members of various youth desks and inmates from the Leeuwkop Correctional
Centre.
Speaking from the award ceremony held at Turfontein Racecourse, MEC Cachalia
expressed his gratitude to the graduates for taking the course critically
because the little knowledge they acquired will change and save the lives of
many people in the communities. The programme is run by the Department of
Community Safety in partnership with Departments of Education, Correctional
Services and other anti-drug abuse organisations to combat drug-abuse linked
crime. âThis programme should be effectively implemented and focus mostly on
the youth issues, because substance abuse is one of the primary reasons that
most young people commit crime s and find themselves in jail instead of
school,â urged Cachalia.
The success and importance of the ceremony was demonstrated by confessions
by rehabilitated music star Sandile Ngwenya, otherwise better known as
Mapaputsi, and inmates from the Leeuwkop Correctional Centre who admitted how
alcohol and drug-abuse led them behind the bars.
For more information contact:
Mandla Radebe
Tel: 011 689 3633
Cell: 083 288 8915
E-mail: mandla.radebe@gauteng.gov.za
Issued by: Department of Community Safety, Gauteng Provincial
Government
23 February 2009
Source: Department of Community Safety, Gauteng Provincial Government
(http://www.gautengonline.gov.za)
