Tshwane Mayor, Solly Msimanga in his new office at the Tshwane House building, 7 June 2017, Pretoria. Picture: Jacques Nelles
At this time of tightening municipal budgets and clamour for improved service delivery, it is a brave mayor indeed who hands over R40 million to nonprofit organisations (NPOs) for their fight against drugs.
Pretoria’s first citizen, Solly Msimanga, has done just that. He’s made a clear statement that rehabilitation, and not retribution, is the only really effective way to tackle the drug blight in our cities.
The NPOs are helping ween “nyaope” addicts and others off their drugs.
This is a critically important job because, as Msimanga noted, substance abuse – and especially involving nyaope – has been linked to cable theft, metal infrastructure destruction and common theft.
Getting addicts off drugs will have a positive impact on the rest of society.
At the same time, the NPO drugs money donations are not the only thing which the municipal and provincial authorities are doing to roll back the drugs tide.
Msimanga says employment opportunities are also being created to keep the vulnerable off the streets so they will not be condemned to a life of poverty and violence which could, of itself, be a death sentence.
Beating drugs will be a long and difficult road, but we salute Pretoria for taking the first steps along it.