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5 August 2005

Programme Director
Executive Mayor of Thabo Mufutsanyane District
Mayor of Maluti a Phofung Local Municipality and the Speaker
MECs for Education, Ms MA Tsopo
MEC for Health, Mr TS Belot
HOD for Social Development, Mr RJ Rakgoale
Acting HODs for Education, Mr MS Rakometsi
Acting HOD for Health, Mr S Shuping
Distinguished and Honourable guests
Representatives from other departments
Ladies and gentlemen

It is an honour and a privilege for me to address you in this august occasion of the celebration of the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Drug Trafficking. This day also marks the Official Launch of “Ke Moja – No Thanks I’m fine without Drugs” Programme.

As part of the international community of nations, I must indicate to you that elsewhere, 26 June 2005 was used as a platform to celebrate the human effort and determination to fight against drugs. As the whole world was united against this social evil, ours was the marking of the historical landmark that defines our country, the 50th Anniversary of the Freedom Charter. This is the charter that continues to serve as a beacon of hope for all freedom loving people throughout the world.

On 26 June 1955, the Freedom Charter was adopted at Kliptown. In this historic Charter, our people made the bold assertion that: “South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white, and that no government can justly claim authority unless it is based on the will of the people, and therefore, we, the people of South Africa, black and white together, countrymen, and brothers, adopted this Freedom Charter, and we pledge ourselves to strive together, sparing neither strength nor courage, until the democratic changes here set out have been won.”

Achieving the Freedom Charter’s objectives does not only rest with government, but demands equal responsibility from the society which it serves. It is in that spirit that the Provincial Government, and in particular, the Department of Social Development is calling people to partner in service delivery against alcohol and drug abuse. Today we are launching “Ke Moja - No thanks I’m fine without drugs” programme. This is rolled out to youth-in-schools and youth-out-of-schools by the Department of Education and civil society respectively.

South Africans in general and Free Staters in particular also joined the rest of the world in ensuring that this day is celebrated. This year’s theme is “Value yourself, make healthy choices”. The main goal is to emphasise the importance and effectiveness of drug prevention to individuals, families, communities as well as to the general public. Today as Free Staters, we celebrate this day and also strive to raise awareness about the dangers of alcohol and drug abuse within our communities in our province. We also celebrate the achievements over the years in partnership with the Departments of Education and Health as well as civil society. We celebrate these partnerships as defined by the spirit of the People’s Contract. The main thrust of my department is the prevention of alcohol and drug abuse within communities. These are anti-development instruments, as they are used to undo all the good work of creating healthy, sober communities.

In order to realise this goal, the department provides four areas of service delivery with regard to Substance Abuse Services in the province, in partnership with other government departments and Private Sector Stakeholders and these are:

* in-patient (residential) treatment services
* community based treatment and services
* prevention services
* training for prevention services

Alcohol and drug abuse is a serious problem, which directly and indirectly affects our people. It also results into people engaging in various social ills such as rape, theft and assault and domestic violence, which manifests into family dysfunction. Indulgence in alcohol and drugs ultimately destroys acceptable social norms and values in society. Substance abuse is also a social and economic problem that impacts negatively on all facets of human life. Substance abuse has become a pervasive issue and cuts across social, racial, cultural, religious, language and gender barriers; hence it is referred to as a silent killer. It therefore needs to be confronted with a sense of urgency and decisiveness by all members of our society, if we are to protect our future and build a people’s contract to create a healthy future as part of our 2014 vision.

It is evident that the majority of the victims of alcohol and drug abuse are young people, who most of them are not able to handle social pressures like peer influence, unemployment and poverty. It is by no mistake therefore that the majority of people we involve in prevention programmes for substance abuse are youth. The Programme “Ke Moja – No thanks I’m fine without drugs” targets youth in schools and youth out of schools. Through this project the Department of Social Development aims at revitalising the moral fibre of the society, because its actions are based upon solidarity and engendering of self-reliance and independence within individuals and communities. The focus is on young people by empowering them through provision of life skills to deal with peer pressure, how to assert themselves, decision making and other pertinent issues in their lives, so that we can create a drug free society. Therefore, by rolling out “Ke Moja – No thanks I’m fine without drugs” we seek to ensure that young people are empowered to create conditions for sustainable livelihoods. “Ke Moja – No thanks I’m fine without drugs” project can also help to alleviate some of the most devastating social ills within our communities like crime, the transmission of sexually transmitted infections, loss of productivity, and family dysfunction.

The South African government developed a policy document called the National Drug Master Plan that was adopted in 1999 and is currently under review. The document acts as the barometer of time commitments and performance of the South African Government and its citizen in the implementation of prevention programmes by each province. To ensure the implementation of the National Drug Master plan, a provincial Substance Abuse Forum, referred to as the Free State Provincial Substance Abuse Forum (FSPSAF), which is a representative body of all stakeholders in the field of substance abuse services has been formed. Ladies and gentlemen this Substance Abuse Forum is further tasked to ensure that local drug action committees are established and well functioning at municipal level. Such committees have, however, not yet been established in the province. We are therefore, calling upon our sister departments and partners to come on board, so that we can speed up the process of establishing these committees. In the spirit of building a people's contract, I impress upon the community to fully and actively participate in these committees.

The committee will be tasked among others to ensure that substance abuse is kept high on both public and political agenda, and to further ensure that families of drug and alcohol abusers have access to information, counselling and treatment services.

Programme Director, we are also concerned about the stigma attached to drug users and we hope to diminish it by illustrating the possibilities for a positive future, using the stories of individuals who have successfully undergone treatment and are engaged in productive life during our prevention programmes in the form of awareness campaigns and workshops.

A common misconception exists that ‘once a drug abuser, always a drug abuser’. This attitude and the stigma associated with drug abuse and drug dependence hinders society from being proactive in meeting and treating the needs of drug abusers. In truth, drug abuse prevention programmes are effective and can have a dramatic impact on individuals, families, and the community at large. The ball is in our court now. What do we do as government in partnership with civil society? Formulating a response to alcohol and drug abuse problems and to engage all role-players to effectively address this phenomenon has therefore become a top priority to the Department of Social Development.

In conclusion, I as the MEC for Social Development in the Free State Province further make a call to drug traffickers to stop supplying drugs and unlawful substances in our schools and communities because the arm of the law will find them. I call on and challenge everyone here today to create an ongoing awareness and consciousness about the dangers of alcohol and drug abuse amongst the people of the province. Let us together take drastic steps and measures as a matter of priority to arrest the proliferation of drug abuse, noting that this phenomenon has negative consequences that are too ghastly to contemplate. Let us all stand together against substance abuse and make the Free State a better and safer province to live in. Let us all make sure that we build a people's contract to eradicate drug abuse and drug dependence in the province.

I thank you

Issued by: Department of Social Development, Free State Provincial Government
5 August 2005