ETHEKWINI council has rejected a proposal by the DA to establish municipal rehabilitation facilities similar to those in DA-governed metros which have assisted addicts overcome drug dependence.
“I put forward the proposal in the form of a notice of motion to the eThekwini Council. The motion requested the Executive Committee to investigate whether setting up municipal rehabs would be feasible, and to report back on the progress thereof to Council. It was, however, voted down by the ANC,” said Nicole Graham, DA EThekwini caucus leader.
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Graham said drug abuse was rampant in eThekwini, with poor policing and permeable borders worsening the problem. She added that whoonga and sugars had ravaged Durban communities with unemployed youth becoming trapped as Durban’s economy stagnates.
“The KZN Department of Social Department only has two in-patient rehab facilities. The Newlands Treatment Centre, the only one in Durban, has a maximum capacity for 100 patients, making it vastly inadequate to address Durban’s drug problems. eThekwini Municipality has no concrete response to the drug problem. Whoonga and sugars are opiate-based drugs which are very difficult to withdraw from without proper medical detox. While other cities have set up additional rehabs and shelters, eThekwini has done nothing,” she said.
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