HARARE – President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Monday pledged that his government will intensify its efforts to fight growing substance abuse.
“Unbecoming trends such as the alarming entry of destructive drugs into our jurisdiction threaten the fate of our youth,” he said, speaking at the Heroes Acre in Harare during the burial of Roman Catholic priest, Emmanuel Ribeiro.
Mnangagwa said his government would “continue to take stern measures to stamp out this growing threat”, adding: “In the same vein, gun related crime will not be tolerated.”
In Harare last month, police and local communities in a joint operation dubbed ‘No to Crystal Meth’ recovered drugs worth over Z$8 million.
Tungamirai Zimonte, the director of Youth Against Alcoholism and Drug Dependency (YADD) said while “there hasn’t been much research on the prevalence of drug abuse in Zimbabwe… it is safe to conclude that there has been an increase in drug abuse exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.”
“Due to this social economic situation, Zimbabwe is facing increasing cases of depression, trauma and stress which can lead to an increase in drug use,” Zimonte said.
Zimonte said crystal meth, known in Shona street lingo as ‘mutoriro’, was the drug most in use among young people.
“Other substances being abused include alcohol, cannabis and controlled medicines such as codeine which contains cough medicine, and benzodiazepines,” added Zimonte.
Some of the drivers of drug abuse, said Zimonte, are poverty, peer pressure, trauma and high youth unemployment.
