“Yet another Youth Month has come and gone with little or nothing to show about youth development programmes by the metro,” said DA’s PR councillor in the metro, Clr Lucky Mokhoana.
According to Mokhoana the scourge of drug use and unemployment in the city is spiraling out of control.
“The metro continues to ponder and dream about the establishment of drug committees.
“While the scourge of drugs in our metro hits the youth the hardest.
“The time to address this problem is now,” said Mokhoana.
“Drug abuse in the metro has reached epic proportions and now is the time to take action to avoid a situation where drug lords run our townships.
“In his State of the City Address, the executive mayor, Clr Mzwandile Masina, made no mention of the drug problem in our townships.
“We expected the mayor to discuss the establishment of more drug rehabilitation centres and announce concrete plans on how to deal with drug dealing head on.”
Mokhoana further stated that the mayor’s blasé attitude towards this issue is an indication that the metro is happy to just pay lip service to the problems that are faced by the youth.
“The reality is that substance abuse is an issue that affects all of us, directly and indirectly,” said Mokhoana.
“Substance abuse is a demon that continues to show its ugly head in our society.
“Not only does it destroy the youth, but also it leaves many families scarred and destroys the moral fabric of our society.”
He alleged that the law enforcement agencies within the metro, such as the EMPD and SAPS, are fighting a losing battle as there is a lack of political will to address this problem.
“It is evident that the metro has lost the war on drugs in our city,” he added.
“We consider the drug problem within the City of Ekurhuleni as critical and we will not rest until measures are adopted that protect our communities from this devastating scourge.”
