The Sunday Mail
We need such a proactive stance yesterday, but the fact that it is now here gives a sense of hope that the days are numbered for both suppliers and abusers.
Zimbabwe has, indeed, lost patience with the menace that threatens to decimate an entire generation. We could not continue to watch and be bystanders forever.
Action is what was needed and the aggressive operation appears set to win the fight. It is early days yet, but already there are signs that the stakeholders involved mean business.
They have hit the ground running. Already, by end of day on Friday, scores of people had been arrested at stop-and-search roadblocks in the capital. They mean business.
The operation is zeroing in on those found intoxicated in public spaces, who will be arrested and subsequently questioned on the origins of the drugs.
The anti-drug drive around the city is primarily targeting drug cartels, kingpins and abusers.
Motorists will be subjected to stop-and-search operations and the inevitable raids in the city.
It has been noted that marijuana; crystal meth, also known as guka; and BronCleer or Bronco are the most abused. Cocaine and skunk also feature prominently.
Harare Metropolitan province Secretary for Provincial Affairs and Devolution Mr Tafadzwa Muguti indicated that they were working hand-in-glove with such ministries as those of Education; Public Service and Social Welfare; and Health and Child Care.
Drugs and narcotics police canines and traffic units have been roped in as the vehicle and bus searches intensify.
Drug abuse is now being treated as a criminal offence and not a disciplinary one, with rehabilitation being done thereafter.
“This is our responsibility as Harare Metropolitan province. We are fed up. We have set up strategic points during this operation to be able to intercept some of these drugs,” said Mr Muguti.
This is the right attitude that will bring results to the table. There should be zero tolerance to drug and substance abuse. School authorities are expected to report any such cases to the police. It is sad to hear that even primary schoolchildren are deep into drugs as well.
The fight against drug abuse necessitates the involvement of a plethora of stakeholders. These include resident associations, schools, police, civil society, the media and the business sector.
We are glad some have already come to the party. The police have said most of their tip-offs are coming from residents.
Suspected drug traffickers were on Thursday arrested at a roadblock along Willowvale Road during the launch of the “No to Dangerous Drugs and Illicit Substances: See Something, Say Something Operation.”
No sector can independently work to attain the envisaged results. This operation will, however, go a long way in alleviating the obnoxious practice of drug abuse.
Police Officer Commanding Harare province, Commissioner Wonder Tembo, said drug lords are using high-density areas as their playground, with young children and youths being their targets.
He pledged the police will leave no stone unturned in their efforts to clean up the city.
A more expansive programme that covers the whole country would do well to tame the disease.
In some instances, law-enforcement agents have been accused of lethargy and ineptitude in dealing with drug cases, so it is pleasing to note these heightened efforts.
Law-enforcement agents have a critical role to play in this drug conundrum. They have the power, instruments and mechanisms at their disposal to mitigate this profoundly tragic phenomenon.
Drug abuse, as is common knowledge, has devastating effects on a populace, which obliterate careers and entire prospects in equal measure.
Memory loss, concentration deficits, diminished appetite and anti-social behaviour are examples of the deleterious effects drugs have on individuals. Add to that loss of perspective and neglect of responsibilities and the picture becomes even more tragic.
For youths, playing truancy at school becomes the order of the day. Furthermore, academic performance is gravely affected. The effects of drug abuse are many.
Therefore, what the police is doing is laudable. Parents are at their wits’ end. This desperate and despairing situation needs decisive action. As indicated earlier, each and every one of us needs to be actively involved in the eradication of this drugs challenge.
But there are also inherent risks. By virtue of their trade, drug cartels and lords are liquid. They often have the money to bribe law officers – therein lies another challenge.
Are they able to resist a carrot being dangled before them. Failure to resist that means they inadvertently perpetuate the practice we wish to put an end to. It then leads us to interrogating the measures the police and other agencies have taken to mitigate this.
We are not privy to those, but certainly, they must put in place measures to address this present risk. I would imagine that there are ways of doing this, including the use of technology.
We would not want a situation in which well-meaning efforts come to naught.
Suspected drug trafficker, Munyaradzi Mudyaravanji, who was in possession of 50 Broncleer cough syrups, was arrested at a roadblock along Willowvale Road in Harare on Thursday.
Any strategy considers the risk factors. It would be imprudent to ignore those, otherwise all efforts might fall flat on their face.
We have national development plans. They need active, proactive and sober citizenry to derive optimum benefits. We can ill-afford to see a largely drunken population to fruition.
To underline the gravity of the drugs challenge, a few examples will suffice.
In one case, a man was arrested in Marondera. He told the police that he gets the drugs from his sister in South Africa and distributes them.
That raises a number of issues. While this case is anecdotal, it suggests that the diaspora is a source of drugs. It would appear to be common cause but we appeal to those in the diaspora to join in the fight and desist from supplying drugs back home no matter how lucrative the deals may be.
They are destroying an entire generation, so any such case reflects a serious case of myopia.
Where are the consciences? How do the perpetrators of such acts sleep at night? Has monetary gain become the sole consideration, to the exclusion of all else?
How drugs pass borders and immigration officials is easy to discern. It is either through clandestine means or bribery. That, too, needs to be addressed.
It comes to pass that there should be no sacred cows in this operation. There are no untouchables. This is one way we can eradicate the challenge or at the very least, substantially reduce it.
Those who rely on networks to continue to engage in these grossly illicit acts must know, in very clear terms, that their number is up and will not continue in the same vein.
But that takes collective and more decisive action.
Each and everyone can and should be involved in this drive. The police have indicated that they get tip-offs from the public. That is as it should be.
It is when we keep quiet on the goings-on that we become complicit by virtue of acts of omission.
The drugs issue is cancerous. It eats at the very fabric of society and negates developmental aspirations.
It condemns society to stagnation and retrogression. It afflicts the same with unimaginable horrors
Indeed, we earnestly appreciate the launch of the police operation. It has been long in coming. We weave our actions into a fabric of reality.
We need to summon all our actions to the eradication of this drug menace. We should adopt an all-stakeholder approach. In doing so, we also raise awareness as to the effects of drugs.
Then, and only then, will we be able to achieve the kind of traction we desire.
In God I Trust!
