President's drugs plan 'is failing us'

The hopes of seven mothers in Eldorado Park, south of Johannesburg, are turning into despair at what they describe as "failed promises" by President Jacob Zuma.

It will be a year in April since the mothers wrote to Zuma, pleading with him to help them in the fight against drug abuse. The plea prompted Zuma to visit the area a month later.

At his meeting with concerned residents, Zuma pledged a raft of interventions to address the complaints of rampant drug use, crime and ineffective policing.

"Things went well following the president's visit . but only for about three months. They soon went back to how they were. If anything, they may have gotten worse," said Dereleen James, one of the mothers who told Zuma of their experiences of living with drug-addicted children.

On Friday, during the inter-high school sports day, children were spotted drinking alcohol and smoking dagga in the streets around the stadium despite the presence of a police vehicle.

A resident who asked not to be named said drug kingpins had not been intimidated by the threatened clampdown following Zuma's visit.

"The brother of one druglord told me that his brother paid a R4000 bribe to police and only spent two to three days in holding cells," he said.

James expressed her disappointment at Zuma's failure during his State of the Nation speech to address drug abuse on Thursday night. "Our people are at the mercy of drugs in this community. The president could talk about saving the rhino but said nothing about fighting against the scourge of drugs," she said.

Police statistics for 2012-2013 show a 13.5% increase in drug-related crimes across South Africa. More than 30% of these were recorded in Gauteng.

During his visit to Eldorado Park, Zuma promised to:

• Personally drive a national, provincial and municipal plan of action to fight drug abuse;
• Report back to residents "soon" with a holistic plan of action;
• Improve the arrest rate of dealers and drug lords;
• Get more police on the beat;
• Remove corrupt police officers working with drug dealers;
• Close down "lolly lounges", where sex and drugs were sold;
• Strengthen the community's ties with police;
• Improve access to drug rehabilitation facilities and skills training for at-risk youth; and
• Build a factory in the area to tackle unemployment.

Of these promises, James said, Zuma's task team had been able to close down lolly lounges, improve access to drug rehabilitation facilities and skills training and "somewhat" strengthen community ties with police.

"We are still waiting on the other promises to be fulfilled," she said.

Gauteng's department of social development identified 40 families in need of help with addiction during door-to-door campaigns, while 281 families benefited from family preservation programmes.

According to the department, 293 children reported for out-patient treatment and 15 for in-patient treatment.

But James, now a drug activist and chairman of drug support group Sharing Without Shame, said despite efforts to help the community, there was not "much difference" on the ground.

She accused Zuma of failing to get drugs off the streets or remove drug dealers from the community. She said she felt "helpless" at the ineffectiveness of rehabilitation programmes to steer youth away from drugs.

"It is crazy what people have to endure. I get about 15 e-mails a day from people who are addicted to drugs or living with addicts, begging for help with their drug problems," said James.

Between the president's visit in May and August5, the most recent period for which a breakdown is available, 753 of the 1 467 arrests made by Eldorado Park police were drug-related. According to police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Katlego Mogale, 498 convictions had been secured in this period.

Mogale added: "The suspects who were convicted were given the option of a fine and those with pending cases were released on bail."

Ten alleged kingpins have so far been arrested. Some cases were pending and "some" suspects had been convicted, Mogale said.

James attributed the low conviction rate to legislation on drug-related arrests.

In his speech to the community, Zuma said if needs be, "laws would have to be adjusted to address this, so that druglords and dealers don't hide behind the technicalities of the law to avoid arrest.''

James is advocating for special courts to fast-track the prosecution of drug dealers and for the "grey area" in the law to be changed.

"The laws surrounding drug possession make it difficult to arrest people who aren't physically handling the substances," she said.

DA councillor Peter Rafferty said more resources needed to be put behind law enforcement.

There are at present only six police patrol vehicles servingEldorado Park, Freedom Park, Eldorado Estate and Slovo Park