Alexandra is overrun by crime which may worsen if the scourge of the drug, nyaope, is not stopped.
This according to councillor Monde Mbingeleli of Ward 116, who said police, councillors and other community leaders were inundated with reports from residents concerned about their safety being compromised by nyaope addicts. The addicts are said to roam the streets and congregate at intersections scouting for people, especially women, to rob of handbags in search of money and other valuable items to sell to raise money to buy the drug.
Mbingeleli said the problem was getting out of hand and it damaged children who were addicted. He said the drug only benefited the drug dealers, some of whom were known to residents who do not report them to the police.
“The drug is classified as an illegal substance to possess and sell. It’s therefore baffling that residents do not report the peddlers and the users. Their non-reporting also reflects parents’ and families’ failure to care and protect children who are being turned into junkies and whose future will be destroyed,” Mbingeleli said.
He also stressed that school children were most at risk. “Even with tightened searches at [school] gates and unannounced police raids, some of the children continue to be recruited as drug couriers on school premises.” This he said in reference to an occasion last month when an official government delegation was shown a water drainage spot at a secondary school where drugs were allegedly smuggled into the school for the children couriers to sell.
Monde said the scourge could also be stopped if residents were more involved in their children’s lives so that they could detect if they were involved in drugs or other substances. He also urged parents to join their children’s school governing bodies and attend ward committee meetings where, collectively, they could address this scourge.
Details: 082 464 2946.
