Pretoria - The City of Tshwane has launched its R31.7 million Local Drug Action Committee to fight substance abuse.
Mayor Randall Williams and MMC for Health Rina Marx introduced the committee to stakeholders and concerned members of the public at Sammy Marks Square, where Williams highlighted substance abuse was a matter the City took seriously.
He said the City had various programmes and supported many organisations fighting the scourge of substance abuse.
Williams said: “The establishment of this committee is indeed a significant step in the fight against substance abuse in the City of Tshwane, therefore, this initiative has my full support.
“Substance abuse is a matter that the City takes seriously, too many young lives are being destroyed by drugs such as nyaope.
“We cannot stand by and watch as our young residents waste away due to substance abuse.
“This structure will serve as a co-ordinating mechanism to ensure that all resources are used effectively to fight substance abuse.
“It will also be tasked with developing an action plan to combat substance abuse in Tshwane.
“I want to wish you all the best of luck in the work you are about to undertake. It is important that we all work together to ensure that Tshwane does not become a capital city for nyaope and other substances.”
Marx said it was difficult to quantify the extent of drug and substance abuse in Tshwane, but what was known was that it was unacceptably high.
“The South African Community Epidemiology Network on Drug Use, in a recent study, found that this problem was widespread in Tshwane; 19% of households who took part in the study indicated that at least one person residing in the household had a substance use problem.
“We are all aware of the socio-economic consequences of drug and substance abuse on families – and even communities – and that it often results in domestic and gang violence, assaults, robberies and other criminal activities.
“It also has an aggravating impact on communicable and non-communicable diseases as was experienced during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This is why the City has identified the drug and substance abuse programme as one of its main strategic priorities and extensive resources and efforts are used to make this programme work.
“This is also the reason why I can confidently claim that Tshwane is driving one of the most successful programmes in the country aimed at supporting this vulnerable section of our society,” said Marx.
The City’s programme has been implemented in line with the requirements of the National Drug Master Plan of 2019-24.
It is a community intervention programme based on demand and harm reduction.
This programme is referred to as the Community Oriented Substance Use Programme and was implemented in partnership with the Faculty of Family Medicine at the University of Pretoria.
To ensure continuity of the services, the City allocated the R31m budget, and an additional R2m will be made available in this financial year to qualifying and approved NPOs who provide harm and reduction services throughout Tshwane.
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