Central Drug Authority 2021/22 Annual Report; National Drug Master Plan Update; with Minister and Deputy Minister

Meeting report

The Chairperson welcomed everyone to the first meeting with the new Central Drug Authority (CDA) board. It was also the first meeting since the parting of the beloved Ms Maurencia Gillion (ANC), and the Committee was requested to observe a moment of silence.

Minister’s opening remarks

Ms Lindiwe Zulu, Minister of Social Development, said the CDA had recently met and would deal with the challenges presented.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), it was estimated that approximately three million people die each year due to substance-use disorders, which was 5.3% of all deaths. The latest data from the world drug report indicated that drug use around the world was increasing both in terms of overall numbers and in terms of the proportion of the world's population that uses drugs.

South Africa was also experiencing this trend. She said the country was under siege from the illicit drug syndicates, which was a public health challenge visible in many parts of the country and neighbourhoods. She suggested that this problem needed to be addressed urgently, and that the Department must do better than what had been done in the past. Dealing with this issue and gender-based violence (GBV), needed to happen house-to-house, street-to-street, and community-to-community.

She said that if the Department wanted to make the necessary impact on the people, it must ensure the strengthening of local government structures and community-based organisations, as well as support individuals who stood up and did something about the cause.

She acknowledged that dealing with the issue of alcohol and drug abuse was a task that required a collective effort among departments. The CDA had therefore been established in terms of section 53 of the Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse Act, No. 70 of 2008, to oversee and monitor the implementation of the national drug master plan.

The CDA provided the government and society with an approach to focus on the following strategic priorities:

• Demand reduction for illicit drugs;
• Breaking the illicit drug supply chain system through proactive law enforcement;
• Effective response to drug-related crimes;
• Countering money laundering;
• Promoting justice co-operation;
• Increasing the availability of, and access to, drugs for medical and scientific use;
• Identifying trends and controlling new psycho-active substances;
• Promoting governance, leadership, and accountability for an effective response;
• Strengthening data collection;
• Monitoring evaluation and research of evidence-based responses; and
• Stimulating robust and sustainable economic growth aimed at reducing poverty, unemployment and inequalities.

The report provided an analysis of the efforts of the country to address substance abuse in a coordinated and coherent manner against the strategic priorities of the National Drug Master Plan 2019-2024

The report also provided an analysis of the strategic partnerships the CDA had established with key local and international institutions such as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), the UN Commission on Narcotics Drugs, and others. These partnerships were part of the Department’s action in combating and reducing illicit drug and alcohol abuse and related crimes. She highlighted that the growing emphasis on what worked required that the Department learnt from others, and implemented programmes with a track record of success.

Minister Zulu emphasised that the CDA was committed to implementing the national drug master plan. She suggested that forming coalitions across party lines was necessary to confront the issue of substance abuse head-on. She noted that the human cost of this issue was incalculably measured, not in rands and cents lost, but in the lives of the shattered young people.

Central Drug Authority (CDA) 2021/22 annual report

Ms Nandi Mayathula-Khoza, Chairperson, CDA Board, said the Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse Act mandated the CDA to coordinate national efforts in the fight against substance abuse and to submit an annual report that sets out a comprehensive description of the national effort relating to the problem of substance abuse.

Her presentation covered the responsibilities and duties of the CDA; the strategic approach of the National Drug Master Plan (NDMP), which included a breakdown of its vision, mission, principles, target population and goals; a situational analysis of South Africa and globally; research into the rates of alcohol use and abuse; stakeholder engagements; performance management and means of monitoring; and the NDMP implementation analysis, including the goals, achievements and recommendations.

Some of the restrictions recommended included the complete prohibition of tobacco sales, to minimise tobacco-related risks of severe COVID-19 infection; and a reduction in alcohol sales, to lower alcohol-related emergencies (such as from traffic accidents) in healthcare facilities to free up space for COVID-19 emergencies.

(Please refer to the presentation for more information)

Discussion

The Chairperson commented on the briefing, and stated that it showed they had a long way to go. He expressed his surprise that there was no national research programme for this issue.

He noted that South Africa also had new designer drugs that were not available anywhere else in the world, and were produced and consumed only in South Africa.

He expressed concern regarding the fight against drug abuse, alcohol, tobacco, dagga, and all other substances, as it seemed as if it would be difficult to win. He suggested that a war against drug abuse needed to be declared.

With the legalisation of dagga for home use, there was concern for some of the children who thought that because dagga was legal, it meant it was no longer dangerous. He questioned where these children would be in the next 20 years.

He suggested that other departments needed to be involved in providing support and programmes, especially the departments that focus on women and the youth, as they were important stakeholders. The emphasis should be placed on strengthening the provincial structures and the local drug action committees, as there was concern about the future of the country if the people who were supposed to run the country were involved with drugs.

What interventions could the CDA implement to ensure the Departments were doing what they were supposed to do to help stop this scenario?

The Chairperson also asked for clarity on the Colombo Plan. What impact were the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that were funded and partnered with, making on awareness?

He expressed concern about information-sharing with the police. When it became difficult for communities to apprehend people, they tried to take matters into their own hands, and there had been cases in Gauteng and other provinces where communities would try to kill the drug dealers in retaliation. He said that 274 drug dealers had been arrested in the last year, but there was a lack of information about the conviction rate, and due to this lack of information, the impression was given that they had bribed their way out of prison.

Mr M Bara (DA, Gauteng) said the presentation was elaborate and provided a picture of what was happening, and the attempts made to ensure all provinces were covered. He had three questions to raise:

1. Given that there was a drug abuse problem in the country, especially among youth, what attempts were made to ensure all the departments that were supposed to be part of this initiative were doing their part? All the government departments should be welcoming and contributing to this initiative.

2. Without allocated resources, how were provinces expected to play a meaningful role in implementing the drug master plan?

3. Had all institutions, including government departments, submitted their reports in the year under review? If not, what was being done about this?

Ms N Ndongeni (ANC, Eastern Cape) asked if there was a plan to assist the six provinces that did not have a drug master plan.

The Chairperson suggested holding a meeting of the provinces to give a report on what was happening, what they were doing and the challenges they faced, and added that these would likely differ from province to province.

He also asked about the CDA's relationship with traditional healers or doctors in combating substance abuse. He shared that in his village, a few traditional healers chained young addicts brought by their families and underwent a healing process with them, some of which were successful. He also mentioned that some churches, such as the apostolic and healing churches, played a role in the fight against drug abuse. He asked if the CDA had met with the association of traditional healers, as they were important stakeholders. He emphasised the need to find a way to integrate these traditional healers and faith healers into the system of dealing with substance abuse.

Response

Ms Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu, Deputy Minister of Social Development, proposed that due to the large amount of information and constantly changing trends, a general workshop should be arranged where they could hold a detailed discussion.

She said that non-profit organisations (NPOs) were funded by the Department of Social Development (DSD) for what they called statutory services. NPOs that existed in five provinces or more were nationally funded, while the provinces funded those within their provinces, districts, and local government. Issues of drug addiction were a statutory sector of a key population, and services were delivered to them from time to time by NPOs. However, the majority of the NPOs were providing education and raising awareness, and they also occasionally partnered with the CDA to run rehab facilities. The CDA was currently spending R1.7 billion to fund NPOs that performed extension services in terms of drugs.

Regarding the cannabis developments, she agreed with the Chairperson that the CDA was waiting for the finalisation of the bill, and the DSD had made inputs in terms of the correct language.

She said one of the challenges that affected rehab facilitation was the different types of drugs and designer drugs. It was also challenging to develop confirmed treatment guidelines, as the drugs changed every day, and they also changed depending on who one bought them from.

Deputy Minister Bogopane-Zulu pointed out that drugs were highly addictive, and young people were prone to experimentation. She compared the youth of South Africa to those of Botswana, stating that it could take one occasion of drug use for the South African to be addicted, whereas the youth in Botswana could use it for a month and still not be addicted. She added that they had launched an epidemiological network that provided support, and would be able to determine what exactly was in their drugs and how to treat the afflicted.

She responded that the Colombo Plan involved a combination of international countries that also served at the United Nations Office against Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Vienna. South Africa was one of the 13 countries involved. The core of the plan was to build the capacity of public servants to understand the issues around addiction and issues of research. In South Africa, they had graduates and people who were experts on the Colombo Plan, and they were generating and developing experts in the field of drugs which they did not have in the past.

Regarding the inability to submit drug master plans, she said the Department had raised the matter in Parliament with the relevant ministers and deputy ministers, and the leader of government business, the Deputy President, was following up on this for them.

She said that the world of drugs got more sophisticated every single day, and in a month, they would not be arresting anyone selling drugs on the streets because the sales now took place on the internet or the dark web. She commented that drug dealers were now using cryptocurrencies, which were untraceable.

The DSD had allocated over R7 million to the CDA over the years, but they agreed that the amount should be increased. This had been raised consistently with the National Assembly, where the budget was approved, and they were hoping for a better understanding of the mandate of the CDA.

She recommended that the CDA should be constituted as a multi-sectoral response, in line with how the South African National Aids Council had been established, as it was believed it would be more successful in that structure.

She said that traditional healers had been trained for five days on social and structural drivers, including their responsibilities, under a programme called "The Rock Leadership." The training had been ongoing for three years, and only 500 traditional healers were left to be trained in the current financial year that started on 1 April. Regarding the conversation on traditional healers and the church, she responded that it was an ongoing conversation, but that they were beginning to bring in all stakeholders and understood their importance.

She reported that harm reduction centres would be rolled out, including all the things the Chairperson had spoken about.

She supported the Chairperson in convening all nine provinces as a select committee, as it would assist them greatly.

The DSD had raised these issues with Members of the Executive Councils (MECs) at the Ministers and Members of Executive Council (MINMEC), which was a consensus-seeking structure and was there to coordinate. They were hopeful that being called to Parliament would send a message that what they requested was becoming a crisis.

The issue of language in the war on drugs would be discussed during the workshop, highlighting the specific human rights aspect South Africa had signed -- the three conventions that moved away from the war of language.

She reported that they had established a network for people who used drugs. Through this network, people who use drugs are given a voice at the decision table, allowing them to express their points of view.

She would like the Committee to visit the halfway houses they had created to witness the skills they were asking questions about. These places allowed the addicts to leave rehab with the necessary skills needed to cope, and they also did community mobilisation and socialisation.

She explained that the issues around opioids and pharmacovigilance in the country required some overhaul, including the scheduling of, and access to, drugs.

She pointed out that everything in one's house could be considered a drug, including cleaning detergents like “Handy Andy.” Even cough medicine mixed with Sprite became a dangerous mixture called Lean, and children as young as three could make the concoction.

She acknowledged that the issue of drugs was complicated, stating that anyone could be considered a drug addict in waiting. She stressed that no one would wake up in the morning and decide to be an addict, and that circumstances in one's life led one to drug abuse. There were small things people did that led to drug abuse, such as inaccurately measuring the amount of medicinal syrup prescribed by a doctor. She asserted that anyone who drinks more than five cups of coffee was an addict, and that the definition of an addict needed to be understood in its totality, as the problem was not the actual use of drugs or the drugs themselves, but how the drugs were being used.

Regarding alcohol, she said the CDA had pushed the alcohol industry away, but aimed to show them the real problems associated with alcohol through interaction and real programmes.

During lockdown level 5, when alcohol sales were restricted, a high number of pregnancies among nine to 13-year-old girls were recorded, and she attributed this to parents failing to look after their children in their homes when they had been forced to be sober for the first time. She said South Africans had an unhealthy relationship with alcohol, with beer halls being the only places allowed for group gatherings during the apartheid era, and this had now become generational.

The Department was implementing interventions focused on social and behavioural change, with a particular emphasis on family and addressing the introduction of alcohol to children in their homes. The interventions yielded positive results towards achieving a sober South Africa, but the biggest challenge remained in addressing alcohol consumption in the home.

The Department had three universities focusing on alcohol and drug-related research -- Stellenbosch University, the University of Johannesburg, and the Nelson Mandela University. 

She acknowledged that the DSD faced challenges with their local and district action drug committees. The primary difficulty was that as one moved down to lower levels, the drug dealers became more active in these committees. She said that in local elections for drug committees, the chairperson was often a notorious drug dealer. However, because this person carried out funerals in the community, their actions were accepted, and no one wanted to deal with them.

She clarified that it was not just a matter of municipalities not making resources available, but also the members of the local action drug committees who feared for their safety and that of their families if they were to oppose the drug dealers. She added that many people were hesitant to become a member of these committees, as numerous members had been shot and killed, and their houses burnt because they raised awareness. The Department had had discussed this matter with the State Security Agency (SSA) and the justice and security cluster, and were still waiting for a response.

Due to lack of time, the Chairperson stated that any remaining questions to the Department and the CDA could be submitted in writing. He requested that they receive a breakdown of the budget expenditure for this financial year and reschedule a meeting if they needed to further discuss the breakdown.

Consideration of Minutes

The minutes of previous meetings were adopted without any changes.

Closing remarks

A Member raised a point about the Committee's annual performance plan (APP) that had been discussed at the NCOP's strategy planning session. That session had ended due to the unfortunate incident with Chairperson Gillion, and they were unsure where the Committee stood in adopting that report, or if it had been completed at that session.

A Committee staff member indicated that what had been presented that day had already been drafted into a document. This could be shared with the Members, and they could either reconvene or email the Department directly and propose any amendments or changes, and then they could consolidate and finalise the document.

Members were all in agreement with this proposal.

The meeting was adjourned.