POLOKWANE – There are many people suffering from drug addiction around South Africa and Polokwane is no exception.
The difference with other parts of the country is that should sufferers seek help, there are a variety of places to choose from. In our province however, there is a total lack of government owned rehabilitation centres.
This omission has been a long-standing issue and with the increase in drug usage, especially among the youth, the problem has been exacerbated.
For a parent who wishes to remain anonymous, this was a journey that would take her far from home. The mother from Westenburg was searching for a rehab centre for her son, but to no avail.
“I was really frustrated because I felt that the government is failing us. My son needed to go to rehab but there was no facility in Polokwane. I did everything in my power to try to find a place but only found walk-in centres, which didn’t help much,” she said.
She had no option but to seek help elsewhere even though this would cost her a lot of money.
“I made enquiries and found that there were a lot of parents whose children were also battling a drug addiction. I found a place in Pretoria but had to take out a loan because this was going to cost me a lot of money. I battled to secure a place and literally had to beg the director to take my son.”
She says government needs to see this as the urgent matter that it is and open free live-in facilities for drug addicts. This will also help in the fight against crime because most addicts commit crimes to support their habits.
Adéle van der Linde, Spokesperson for the Department of Social Development had this to say:
“There are currently no government-owned rehabilitation centres in the whole of Limpopo. The province’s first state-of-the-art government treatment centre is scheduled to be operational during 2017/18 and will be situated in Seshego.”
“All abusers of substances wishing to be rehabilitated are assisted in the department’s outpatient programme. It is not always a necessity for all persons with addictions to be treated in a facility or become so-called inpatients. The inpatient programme is very intricate and requires the use of prescription medication. If an addicted person is found to need inpatient services, they are referred to government institutions in other provinces, such as Gauteng and Mpumalanga, in cases where they can’t afford a private institution,” she added.
According to van der Linde, drug addicts can in the meantime make use of their nearest social workers for help or alternatively use the South African National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (Sanca) services.
“There is no quick fix and prevention remains better than cure. The department therefore focuses on empowering communities with information on the dangers of substance abuse through various programmes,” van der Linde concluded.
