By Lloyd Takawira
Strolling the dusty streets of Chitungwiza one is greeted by illegal drug hotspots popular in street language “pa Base”.
While they are concerted efforts to tame the menacing drug abuse by the youths it seems the fight is a lost battle.
However, for two Chitungwiza youths, Kwanele Mswelanto and Malcom Gondongwe, they cannot watch while their peers turning the dormitory town to a haven for drug lords and addicts.
The two said that Chitungwiza is where the abuse of crystal meth and other deadly substances has become the order of the day among youths, destroying families as parents are failing to cope with drug abuse.
Speaking to Bustop TV News after launching a weekly podcast link (https://youtu.be/9VZQNFXUJQs). The two called on the authorities to actively act on drug and substance use, as young people they feel they are duty bound to educate their peers on the dangers of substance use.
“We decided as Kwanele Mswelanto and Malcom Gondongwe, start a podcast called “Jaivi”. The podcast will speak on numerous societal ills that are facing the young people in our ghettos. So we decided to start with the topical one. Drug abuse in the form of “Guka” is our first pot of call.”
Mswelanto and Gondongwe said that drug abuse cases are increasing, and no one seems to talk more about it.
“There has been a sprout of many drug houses in the dusty suburb, raising fears amongst its occupants of infants and underage’s being associated with the drug. Children from as young as 5 can be seen mixing and mingling with the drug addicts and suppliers some of which are their family members.”
“This is putting the future of the young generation at risk. Growing in a society that is seeing drug abuse as something almost normal they are more likely to fall victim to drug abuse.”
The two said that because of drug and substance abuse, there are high crime rates in most of Chitungwiza suburbs.
“The drug is being blamed for the high crime rates being experienced in the suburb as addicts are going to unimaginable heights just to afford a fix”.
Speaking to this reporter one crystal meth user openly confessed to stealing various goods from his community. He confessed to stealing goods varying from clothes, gadgets and pick pocketing just to get a fix.
Some members of the community who spoke to this reporter, expressed their disgruntlement over the drug peddlers who are the cause of the problems their society is facing.
With “Jaivi” the two aim create drug abuse awareness.
“The drug has also become a home wrecker, as addicts sometimes vanish from home for a period stretching to at most two weeks. Addicts become aggressive whenever they are not high or fail to obtain a fix bemoaned one local with a son who has been hooked on to the dangerous dug”.
The two just like some community members have bemoaned the lack of intervention by the police in busting these drug cartels.
With covid-19 pandemic ravaging communities and worsening the economic situation, most youths have resorted to drug abuse.