DA wants 3-pronged drug plan

2008-07-24 18:01

Michael Hamlyn

Cape Town - A three-pronged attack on South Africa's trade in illegal drugs - focusing on demand, supply, and harm-reduction - is proposed by Dianne Kohler-Barnard, the Democratic Alliance's spokesperson on safety and security.

She said on Thursday that first, the government must reinstate the specialist police narcotics bureau which was disbanded during the many waves of police restructuring.

"The DA calls not only for the reinstatement of the bureau, but for its expansion, so that there can be units based in all high drug-activity areas across South Africa," she said.

Second, illegal narcotics must be prevented from entering and exiting our country through increased border and port-of-entry security.

More permanent staff needed

According to the auditor-general's assessment of our borderline security, our land borders are under-capacitated by 71%, our sea borders by 96%, and our air borders have no permanent staff at all.

The DA believes the fight against drugs cannot be won without more permanent staff being allocated to borderline security.

Third, the government must increase the number and capacity of drug rehabilitation centres throughout the country, thus making treatment available to those who need it.

Kohler-Barnard points out that the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, in its 2008 World Drug Report, says that South Africa has become the drugs capital of Africa.

This country, she said, was one of the few in the world that produced dagga for export; and we produced 28% of all of the dagga produced in Africa (2 500 megatons).

Tik laboratories not decreasing

She said we were one of the few non-coca producing countries in the world that had cocaine-producing laboratories, and the number of methamphetamine (tik) laboratories dismantled by the police in South Africa had increased 55% from 2005 to 2006, indicating that the number of laboratories was not decreasing despite police activity.

It is critical that we drive back the scourge of drugs in our country.

Substance abuse is behind a vast number of the crimes committed in South Africa, and we cannot hope to win the fight against crime without winning the fight against drugs.

- I-Net Bridge (News24)