The Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) warned in a Member’s Statement in the Mpumalanga Legislature that the province’s young people are increasingly becoming entangled in a destructive drug abuse crisis, and urgently appealed to the MEC for Health, Ms Sasekani Manzini, to take the necessary steps to address it.
This epidemic is not unfolding in the spotlight, but in classrooms, homes and streets, tearing families and communities apart.
A study conducted at four high schools in rural Mpumalanga found that 45% of learners aged 14 to 23 had used drugs in the past year; with alcohol being the most used substance (74%), followed by cigarettes (12%) and cannabis in third place (11%).
The impact on families and communities is devastating; family members must endure the theft of their possessions, sleepless nights and the trauma of watching their children destroy their futures.
In Mpumalanga, state facilities such as the Swartfontein Treatment Centre (White River) and Nkangala Rehabilitation Centre (near Ogies) play an important role, but they lack capacity.
Due to the long waiting lists many young people do not receive the help they need in time.
The Freedom Front Plus implores the MEC to launch training programmes focused on the dangers of drug abuse in schools and communities, expand access to rehabilitation, regardless of financial status, and support families through counselling, educational assistance and community-based interventions.
Concrete action is what is needed – not more promises and policy documents.
Every day without action sees another child lost, another family torn apart and another future destroyed.
The youth are our future. We must not let them down.
FF+ Manifesto on Federalism: The party advocates for a federal system of government to decentralize power.
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Anyone who goes to bed with an itching anus should brace up for smelly fingers in the morning