​The Gauteng Social Development MEC Morakane Mosupyoe has issued a stern warning to illicit drugs manufacturers and dealers that they are destroying the future of the country and they must be stopped.
Mosupyoe was speaking during a visit at Jamela Rehabilitation Centre in Muillerstyn near Vanderbijlpark.

She said the most painful thing is that these drug dealers who feed our children with these substances make sure that their children do not come anywhere near drugs, and they teach them about the dangers of drugs.

“Sometimes you ask yourself why a person would want to destroy the future of a country because of money. This is pure evil, but if we can work together with everyone including young people, we can be able to win this war. We implore everyone to work with us so that we arrest these people”, Mosupyoe said.

The visit to the centre was part of her own Nthirisano outreach programme. She emphasised the significance of linking rehabilitation centres with the centres of excellence, where young people will get opportunities to be capacitated with skills for them to be employable in future.

“We need to ensure that our centres of excellence are directly linked to rehabilitation centres so that our beneficiaries are also provided with courses that are fully accredited. We encourage everyone of you to take advantage of these opportunities to better your lives. Certainly, it would be pointless if we take you through the rehabilitation process and detoxification, then after all the efforts, we let you go back to the same community without any skills that will help you to keep busy”, she added.
Mosupyoe said that government is committed to fight against the scourge of substance abuse in the province and this time focus more on the causal factors. She further urged everyone to assist government to put an end to stop movement of drugs in communities. Adding that one of the challenges that government faces are that most people who use drugs mostly come to seek help, but they refuse to disclose people who sell drugs to them out there.

The centre manager of JRC George Sibanda said they are grateful for the visit and vow to attend areas of concern by Mosupyoe such as strengthening fundraising aspects in the centre so that they do not only rely on government funding.

Mosupyoe concluded her day by visiting three families of the survivors of the Sharpeville Massacre where she engaged with survivors and distributed food parcels.