News / National
Drugs abuse rampant among youths - MP
30 Oct 2015 at 04:53hrs | Views
UZUMBA MP Simbaneuta Mudarikwa has lamented the rampant drug abuse among youths in Zimbabwe.
"Our youths now are victims of some drugs which are being manufactured in South Africa, moved to Botswana and then sold in the streets of Harare. There is a cough mixture known as 'bronco' and when they are in Mbare, they call it ngoma," he said "In other instances in the morning, it costs a US$1 and when they get drunk, it increases by the day, it will be sold for US$4. When these youths drink this 'bronco', it must not get on to the teeth but the tongue only. When you hear most of those rank marshals shouting Harare apo! Harare apo! they will be all drunk because of 'bronco'."
He said it is actually moving into Zimbabwe in huge quantities, I am sure you saw the arrest which was done by ZRP, where a consignment of over 30 tonnes was confiscated. Bronco is made by a company known as Adcock Ingram Ltd. in South Africa.
He said these drugs are moved to Botswana.
"When you go to any waste-dump, like what I did in Murehwa, I commissioned 5 youths; I was paying them US$10 a day and an additional incentive of US$10, if they brought more – 100 containers. We managed within a week to raise 600 empty containers of 'bronco' and this shows the extent of the destruction," he said.
"We also visited some of the youth who are involved in this drug thing. We greeted them, in the morning they will be struggling to walk and in the evening, they will be very high. Some of them are now 30 years but they do not have any girlfriends. It really shows the social effect of 'bronco'. Just for people to understand, I worked in the Ministry of Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment for 25 years. I left the Ministry as an Assistant Secretary, I am a youth worker."
Mudarikwa said they checked at their homestead, there is a dog which has nine names; this one comes and gives a name.
"I think when somebody does not have kids, the desire of naming and just giving those names to dogs and it is an unfortunate situation where our youths are entrenched in this drug syndrome. It is so dangerous that some of them when they have nothing to eat, they now go out and start getting vegetables from neighbours' gardens and start cooking. It is a situation which needs the nation's attention. It is a situation which needs the welfare department. It is a situation which we need to do something," he said.
"The Youth Development Programme of Zimbabwe must now have Youth Officers with special skills to deal with these 'bronco' graduates. These drug addicts as I am advised here by Hon. Members live a life where on Monday, they put on a jean and they will never wash it until next Monday. These are young people and they are future leaders of Zimbabwe. What do we expect of them?"
He said Youth Officers must now get themselves involved.
"Our urban councils must take a leaf from Bulawayo City Council which gave free land to Amakhosi Theatre led by Conte Mhlanga. I went there to see for myself how they are trying to rehabilitate some of these drunkards," he said. "They also tried to bring on board all the youths. An idle mind is a devil's workshop and we must as a nation look at this problem and deal with it. During the old colonial Harare, there was Mai Musodzi Hall where we used to get musical instruments. That is where Thomas Mapfumo and Harare Mambo Band graduated from. It was the city council welfare programme which provided musical instruments free of charge and some instructors would teach these youths on how to play musical instruments."
He said MPs must also realise that some of the Vagrant Acts was designed by the colonial rulers not to allow many people to move into urban areas, lest they would hear about nationalism and spread it to the rural areas.
"We must get rid of these Acts because they are now archaic because it is something which was designed to oppress the black people. The issue with drugs is like a funeral, you only feel the loss of a loved one when it is in your house. In a normal situation, people will wake up and think all is well," he said.
"Even if you go to Holiday Inn, you will find some 20 youths seated, drinking and when they drink, the sort of songs that they will be singing - there is too much disorder. When they look at you they start laughing at you."
He said to them, they have made their day by laughing at you.
"I asked one of them what they were laughing at. They kept quiet and looked at me and said, mudhara une musoro muhombe – [Laughter] – You can imagine how many people in Zimbabwe have the size of my head. They were so interested in me. It is a laughing matter but I am just expressing the sort of danger this nation is facing through our youths who are lost," said Mudarikwa.
"Reports show that about 65% of our Zimbabwean youths, one way or the other are trying these drugs. These addicts call these drugs the "feel-good-drugs". When I asked them what feels good, they said after you have taken one-and-half bottles of 'bronco', everything becomes green and you feel a lot of fresh air. After that, they start taking those lolly-pops. You see a 30 year old youth sucking a lolly-pop and I asked him why he was sucking a lolly-pop and he said, it reminded him of when he was in Grade 7 enjoying music from his teacher. Where is the relationship between music and a lolly-pop? It shows we are heading for a disaster and attention should be drawn to the relevant Ministry that there is a serious problem."
He said the major reason why youths are going towards 'bronco' is the cost - $3 for a rank marshal is nothing because most of the rank marshals earn between $20 and $30 a day.
"One thing that we discovered is that most of the disc jockeys who are in these nightclubs also use," he said.
"Our youths now are victims of some drugs which are being manufactured in South Africa, moved to Botswana and then sold in the streets of Harare. There is a cough mixture known as 'bronco' and when they are in Mbare, they call it ngoma," he said "In other instances in the morning, it costs a US$1 and when they get drunk, it increases by the day, it will be sold for US$4. When these youths drink this 'bronco', it must not get on to the teeth but the tongue only. When you hear most of those rank marshals shouting Harare apo! Harare apo! they will be all drunk because of 'bronco'."
He said it is actually moving into Zimbabwe in huge quantities, I am sure you saw the arrest which was done by ZRP, where a consignment of over 30 tonnes was confiscated. Bronco is made by a company known as Adcock Ingram Ltd. in South Africa.
He said these drugs are moved to Botswana.
"When you go to any waste-dump, like what I did in Murehwa, I commissioned 5 youths; I was paying them US$10 a day and an additional incentive of US$10, if they brought more – 100 containers. We managed within a week to raise 600 empty containers of 'bronco' and this shows the extent of the destruction," he said.
"We also visited some of the youth who are involved in this drug thing. We greeted them, in the morning they will be struggling to walk and in the evening, they will be very high. Some of them are now 30 years but they do not have any girlfriends. It really shows the social effect of 'bronco'. Just for people to understand, I worked in the Ministry of Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment for 25 years. I left the Ministry as an Assistant Secretary, I am a youth worker."
Mudarikwa said they checked at their homestead, there is a dog which has nine names; this one comes and gives a name.
"I think when somebody does not have kids, the desire of naming and just giving those names to dogs and it is an unfortunate situation where our youths are entrenched in this drug syndrome. It is so dangerous that some of them when they have nothing to eat, they now go out and start getting vegetables from neighbours' gardens and start cooking. It is a situation which needs the nation's attention. It is a situation which needs the welfare department. It is a situation which we need to do something," he said.
"The Youth Development Programme of Zimbabwe must now have Youth Officers with special skills to deal with these 'bronco' graduates. These drug addicts as I am advised here by Hon. Members live a life where on Monday, they put on a jean and they will never wash it until next Monday. These are young people and they are future leaders of Zimbabwe. What do we expect of them?"
He said Youth Officers must now get themselves involved.
"Our urban councils must take a leaf from Bulawayo City Council which gave free land to Amakhosi Theatre led by Conte Mhlanga. I went there to see for myself how they are trying to rehabilitate some of these drunkards," he said. "They also tried to bring on board all the youths. An idle mind is a devil's workshop and we must as a nation look at this problem and deal with it. During the old colonial Harare, there was Mai Musodzi Hall where we used to get musical instruments. That is where Thomas Mapfumo and Harare Mambo Band graduated from. It was the city council welfare programme which provided musical instruments free of charge and some instructors would teach these youths on how to play musical instruments."
He said MPs must also realise that some of the Vagrant Acts was designed by the colonial rulers not to allow many people to move into urban areas, lest they would hear about nationalism and spread it to the rural areas.
"We must get rid of these Acts because they are now archaic because it is something which was designed to oppress the black people. The issue with drugs is like a funeral, you only feel the loss of a loved one when it is in your house. In a normal situation, people will wake up and think all is well," he said.
"Even if you go to Holiday Inn, you will find some 20 youths seated, drinking and when they drink, the sort of songs that they will be singing - there is too much disorder. When they look at you they start laughing at you."
He said to them, they have made their day by laughing at you.
"I asked one of them what they were laughing at. They kept quiet and looked at me and said, mudhara une musoro muhombe – [Laughter] – You can imagine how many people in Zimbabwe have the size of my head. They were so interested in me. It is a laughing matter but I am just expressing the sort of danger this nation is facing through our youths who are lost," said Mudarikwa.
"Reports show that about 65% of our Zimbabwean youths, one way or the other are trying these drugs. These addicts call these drugs the "feel-good-drugs". When I asked them what feels good, they said after you have taken one-and-half bottles of 'bronco', everything becomes green and you feel a lot of fresh air. After that, they start taking those lolly-pops. You see a 30 year old youth sucking a lolly-pop and I asked him why he was sucking a lolly-pop and he said, it reminded him of when he was in Grade 7 enjoying music from his teacher. Where is the relationship between music and a lolly-pop? It shows we are heading for a disaster and attention should be drawn to the relevant Ministry that there is a serious problem."
He said the major reason why youths are going towards 'bronco' is the cost - $3 for a rank marshal is nothing because most of the rank marshals earn between $20 and $30 a day.
"One thing that we discovered is that most of the disc jockeys who are in these nightclubs also use," he said.
Source - Byo24News
