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Bongani Ndlovu, Chronicle Reporter
“YOU are no drunkard, you are no addict, you are no failure but the leaders of tomorrow!”

This was the clarion declaration by one pupil as he stood in front of thousands of his peers, President Mnangagwa and several Cabinet Ministers.

His declaration was met with rapturous applause.

This is how Milton High School deputy Head Boy Khumbulani Ncube kick-started his speech about drug and substance abuse as he urged his peers to stop wasting time on things that would eventually destroy them.

Khumbulani who is also the president of the Bulawayo prefects and students assembly said drug and substance abuse affects and destroys the future of young people.

“I am the only one who has the power to determine the path that I take. I will make my choices and not have them thought out for me. I chose to be educated, I chose to be successful, I chose to have a brighter future, I chose to say no to drug and substance abuse,” said Khumbulani.

He was part of thousands of youths from different parts of Bulawayo, Matabeleland North and South provinces who attended the Vision 2030 Conference held at the Zimbabwe International Exhibition Centre yesterday. The event was held under the theme: “Creating a Young People-Led Economy by 2030 by Fighting Drug and Substance Abuse.”

In his presentation, Khumbulani was standing in for a crop of youths who have refused to be influenced into taking drugs or abusing illicit substances choosing to decide their future as opposed to their peers taking drugs and other illicit substances.

The thousands of youths that gathered at the venue were a reassurance that there are young people out there who want to contribute to the attainment of Vision 2030. They can be an inspiration to those who are hooked on drugs and help further eradicate the scourge that has gripped the country.

Khumbulani was buttressing the points espoused by Vision 2030 Movement chairman Mr Paul Mavima (Jnr) who spelt out how their organisation was fighting drug and substance abuse.

Press at ZITF Economic Conference-Youths

The youth showed that all they need was a platform to speak about their issues and how they can deal with the vices that affect them.

These young people are crying for accessibility, they are crying for their voices to be heard. These are young people who have made a commitment that they want to contribute positively to the growth of the economy,” said Mr Mavima.

The youths who said they represented thousands of their peers across the country, said they understood that the future of the country is in their hands.

“So, if the drug and substance abuse is not arrested now, the future of the youths will be bleak and ultimately Zimbabwe’s and the upper-middle-class economy will not be attainable,” said Mr Mavima.

Drug and substance abuse among the youth has reached alarming levels where illicit alcohol and drugs such as Mutoriro, Kat, Heroin and Broncleer are been consumed by the youths with reckless abandon.

The drug and substance abuse menace has since been elevated to a National Committee which involves other stakeholders as the Government seeks to decisively deal with the scourge.

President Mnangagwa has set up an inter-ministerial task force on drug and substance abuse as part of his administration’s efforts to end the scourge which remains a great threat to the attainment of Vision 2030.

Ingutsheni Central Hospital

The task force is chaired by the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare and deputised by the Ministry of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation.

About 90 percent of patients admitted to Ingutsheni Central Hospital which is a mental health hospital are drug and substance abuse addicts.

There are over 2 000 more with the same problem being attended to as outpatients by the same hospital each month.–@bonganinkunzi