Child Parly bemoans drug abuse; Called on Minister Mthuli to capacitate law enforcement agents.
By Letwin Mubonesi
The Children’s Parliament has called on Finance minister Mthuli Ncube to capacitate law enforcement agents who will deal with the rising of drug abuse cases among youths.
Drug and substance abuse are reported to be rampant in the country and it has led President Emmerson Mnangagwa to declare war on drug cartels in June this year.
While addressing a Parliament pre-budget seminar in Victoria Falls, Child President Menzimuhle Ncube said the 2022 budget should allocate resources for setting up drug rehabilitation as well as treatment centers as young people were increasingly resorting to drugs because of depression caused by socio-economic issues.
“Another pandemic has hit us and as we speak thousands of young people are suffering from alcohol, drug and substance misuse and abuse in our communities.
“As has become the norm, our attentive government, alive to emerging issues, put together a taskforce in which youth are playing a role in developing programmes to combat this scourge. Alcohol and drug abuse are sometimes a sign that our youth are suffering from depression and are failing to cope with certain situations, hence they seek solace in drugs; and in other cases, drug abuse leads our youth to be perpetrators of crime and victims of mental illnesses induced by addiction and abuse of drugs,” he said.
Ncube said the 2022 budget should therefore cater for leadership and self-training programmes to strengthen young people’s resilience on socio-economic challenges they might be facing which made them to find solace in drugs.
Ncube said, “This, therefore, calls for more investment in the health sector to cater for the mental well-being of young people who find it difficult to cope with current unforeseen changes in the economy, and social environments they exist in. Mental health challenges result in death, crime and inactivity among young people; and as we poise ourselves for the targets to achieve upper-middle economic status by 2030, we cannot afford any of this.”
However, Health deputy minister, John Mangwiro revealed that government is working on a comprehensive plan to erect rehabilitation centers for drug addicts.
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