HARARE, Jun. 3 (NewsDay Live) — Drug and substance abuse remains a national disaster threatening Zimbabwe’s economic productivity and the future of its youth, Harare Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution Charles Tavengwa said on Wednesday.
Addressing members of the provincial drug and substance abuse committee in Harare, Tavengwa said the scourge, declared a national disaster by President Emmerson Mnangagwa in 2023, continues to undermine the country’s development agenda.
“Their potential is being eroded by a menace that undermines productivity, health and the very fabric of our communities,” Tavengwa said, referring to young people who remain the most vulnerable to drug and substance abuse.
He said Harare Metropolitan Province had made notable progress since the launch of the anti-drug programme, including the establishment of treatment and rehabilitation facilities such as Wilkins Rehabilitation Centre and the Drug and Substance Abuse Psychosocial Support Centre housed at the Old Macomba Building.
The province has also initiated pilot livelihood projects for survivors in partnership with Africa Green and Pamburi Organisation.
“These centres are not mere structures. They are places of hope, healing, restoration and second chances,” Tavengwa said.
However, he said stakeholder visits to private rehabilitation centres earlier this year revealed that treatment costs ranging between US$800 and US$1,500 per stay remained beyond the reach of many families.
“That reinforces our duty to establish affordable and accessible centres that guarantee recovery and reintegration for all affected individuals. We have to cater for the underprivileged,” he said.
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Tavengwa said as of May 13, law enforcement agencies had disrupted drug supply networks, arresting 284 suspects, including 34 suppliers. Twelve offenders were convicted, while illicit substances valued at more than US$1 million were seized.
On demand reduction, the Ministry of Youth Empowerment and Vocational Training reached 602 youths through awareness campaigns and launched the Youth Service Empowerment Programme, enrolling 200 young people in a six-month training programme.
He said rehabilitation efforts were also expanding, with the Angel of Hope Foundation registering to widen treatment services, while the Wilkins GSA Centre continued operating despite resource constraints.
Under community reintegration programmes, six recovering clients received psychosocial support, while survivors in Marlborough are running a broiler project involving 200 chickens, with plans to increase production to 1,000 birds this month.
Tavengwa identified funding shortages, stigma and limited community ownership as key challenges affecting the programme.
He said centres in Highfield, Chitungwiza, Epworth, Ruwa, Glen Norah, Kambuzuma and Chitungwiza had been earmarked for development and require financial support.
“We will be coming up with various strategies to mobilise those funds because this issue is one of the greatest threats to our nation,” he said.
Tavengwa later told NewsDay Ali e that the programme’s various pillars — including supply reduction, demand reduction, harm reduction, community reintegration, media and communications, resource mobilisation, policing and legal affairs — were now reporting regularly on progress and challenges.
He said key priorities included strengthening coordination and referral systems among stakeholders, improving data collection and documentation, and mobilising resources to operationalise rehabilitation centres across the province.
“We have identified centres that need funding and therefore we have to mobilise resources to make them functional,” Tavengwa said.
