Johannesburg - Eldorado Park residents have had enough of drug peddlers and want swift action from President Jacob Zuma, a parent said on Tuesday.
“My son has done everything... he has stolen from his family, sold household stuff, and even his clothes. Save us from the clutches of the drug dealers Mr President... we have had enough,” Dereleen James said with tears in her eyes.
James was one of the co-signatories to a letter parents in the area wrote to Zuma, asking him to help tackle the area's drug problem.
The letter prompted Zuma to visit Eldorado Park, south of Johannesburg, on Tuesday. Several Cabinet members accompanied him.
James was speaking at a gathering as Zuma was in a closed meeting with community leaders. She said her son, who had gone through rehabilitation twice, would become “wild and hysterical” when the family refused to give him money. She said the area needed new police officers.
“Please fire these cops who turn a blind eye at these individuals killing our children... I am afraid you will leave us with the same promises Mr President,” she sobbed.
Drugs such as tik, cat, and dagga were available everywhere, and at drug dens called “lolli lounges”.
In the letter to Zuma, Cordelia Bailey appealed to him to help close down these “lolli lounges”, which she said had flooded the area.
“The merchants lure young girls to these houses and pay them R100 to keep the men entertained,” she wrote.
The girls were then introduced to drugs and turned into prostitutes. They eventually got their drugs free of charge as they kept clients “happy”, Bailey wrote.
James asked her 17-year-old son, who was at the event and currently undergoing rehabilitation, to “bear with her”.
“I am not doing this to embarrass you my son, but to use you to help others who are in hell as you,” she said.
Zuma was expected to speak to residents in the afternoon. - Sapa