The DA is calling on the residents of Reiger Park to take a stand against the alarming level of drug use in their township.
On that account, the organisation has called for a march to be held on Youth Day, June 16.
The march will start at the park next to Reiger Park Civic Centre at 9am.
The DA spokesperson for Health and Social Development in Ekurhuleni, Tania Campbell, said the DA in Ekurhuleni will mark Youth Day with an anti-drug march in the township, and invited members of the community to join the march and take a stand against drugs.
“Drug use is rife among our youth, and besides it being on the rise, even more alarming is the destruction it is causing in broader society by negatively impacting on the mental and physical wellbeing of a large section of Ekurhuleni’s population.
“As the DA, we call on the community to join hands and support the initiative as we march through Reiger Park and ultimately hand over a memorandum with a list of demands to the mayor of Ekurhuleni, Mzwandile Masina, and the Reiger Park station commander, Colonel Paul Mathebula,” said Campbell.
Their memorandum demands the following:
- To ring-fence grants to assist rehab centres in the metro;
- To establish bursary funding for social workers to be placed at all existing clinics;
- To budget for a functional rehabilitation centre in each region of the metro;
- To upgrade existing youth centres to accommodate counselling for drug rehabilitation.
The DA believes these measures will go a long way in helping to ensure a safer and drug-free community in which the youth can thrive.
“Support us and let’s reclaim the metro from drugs.”
The Advertiser has reported on numerous occasions how drug dealers have turned Reiger Park into a township where drug dealing and abuse is a norm.
Drug peddling is reported to be openly taking place in every street.
Community leader Eddy Flick previously told the Advertiser the drug problem had gone from bad to worse and he also blamed the authorities for being slow to address the social ill.
Although the drug situation in Reiger Park is no laughing matter, Flick once poked fun at the situation saying calling the dealers “drug lords”, instead of “drug killers” apparently makes them think they are men of high rank in the society.
“They don’t even care, as they openly sell drugs to adults, even school children as we watch on, without fear of arrest,” said Flick.
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