SANCA on its own as govt lends little help

POLOKWANE – At a time when over 50% of the province’s residents use marijuana and a high percentage are addicted to hard drugs such as Cat (methcathinone) and Tik (methamphetamine), the South African National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (Sanca) is receiving little or no support from the Limpopo government.

The high number of people addicted, and the lack of support by government were confirmed by Sanca Polokwane administrator, Amanda Swanepoel. These facts were revealed following a recent oversight visit to Sanca by DA member of parliament Lindy Wilson, the shadow deputy minister of social development.

“The Substance Abuse Act, 70 of 2008, states that every province must have a provincial substance abuse forum and every municipality must have a local drug action committee. These forums must be established and must include stakeholders such as the police, the departments of health and education, Sanca, research institutions, local businesses and other non-governmental organisations,” Wilson explained.

Swanepoel said Sanca was inundated with drug addicts and their families’ requests for help from as far as Waterberg, Sekhukhune, Mopani and Vhembe.

With only three social workers and a chronic lack of finances, Sanca did not have the means to assist in other areas of the province. Volunteers from Musina and Phalaborwa were trained by Sanca and they established satellite rehabilitation centres in each town.

However, they had been forced to close their doors due to the lack of funding and support, Swanepoel said.

She said while the department of social development provided funding for 75% of the Sanca social workers’ salaries, Sanca’s running costs and the salaries of nurses, administration and auxiliary personnel were not funded and Sanca had to rely on donations.

Swanepoel said they conducted at least 120 drug tests per month. Schools, companies and parents requested drug tests, as well as the courts.

Added to this, on average of 43 people completed the programme offered by Sanca. Around seven people a day were seen for individual counselling.

Sanca is an outpatient rehabilitation facility, and the only centre in the province that provides certain services free of charge.

A vast majority of patients come from extremely poor communities, and do not have the financial means to pay for testing, medical assistance and weekly counselling.

“We assist them free of charge. We can’t charge them; they do not have money,” Swanepoel said.

The payment of 75% of the social workers’ salaries was the only assistance they received from government in the province, Swanepoel confirmed.

While a provincial substance abuse forum that met regularly did exist, it was not providing assistance or support to local (municipal) drug action committees.

Social development spokesperson, Adéle van der Linde, said the provincial forum was not a department of social development structure.

“The forum is not an implementing body, but a coordination structure for different role players in the fight against drug abuse and -trafficking,” she said.

“Indeed, we do not have strong local drug action committees in the municipalities, and we are, together with the forum, in the process of mobilising communities and organisations to form part of these committees,” she further said.

The Polokwane Municipality did not have, as required by law, a Drug Action Committee. Neither did most of the municipalities in the province, according to Wilson.

According to municipal spokesperson Malesela Maubane, the municipality’s special projects unit knew about the requirement.

He said the unit had contact with the stakeholders in this regard, but said no formal committee existed.

“Not having established a committee is a breach of a gazetted Act and therefore an offence,” Wilson said.

Substance abuse was also one of the challenges that Limpopo police commissioner, Lt Gen Fannie Masemola highlighted during an interview with Review this week, saying that the police in the province would focus on this problem.

Wilson said she would request an urgent meeting with social development minister Bathabile Dlamini and request urgent answers regarding Act being disregarded by the ANC government.

“Had these forums been in place and drug problem been taken seriously, plans could have already been put in place to alleviate the suffering of many,” Wilson said.

Studies show schools struggle with drugs