Legalise drugs to end gang wars - experts

Cape Town - Decriminalising drugs is a silver bullet that could significantly weaken gangs by ruining their main source of income and power, say some experts.

But authorities are against the controversial idea.

Gareth Newham, the Institute for Security Studies’ head of crime and justice, said so far the fight against drugs and gangsterism had failed.

“We have to change our approach... and stop doing what’s proved to fail,” he said.

Gang violence has flared in a number of areas around the province, especially in Manenberg, where shootings are reported almost daily.

Hard Livings gangster Tashwin van Niekerk, of Manenberg, told the Cape Times the fighting was over turf from which to sell drugs and because tik and cocaine were becoming easier and easier to access.

He agreed that decriminalising drugs would affect gangs as their main source of income would be weakened.

“But then there’ll be no boundaries between the gangs and we’ll fight worse,” Van Niekerk said.

Newham said decriminalising drugs “would remove the single biggest source of income and cash to the gangs”.

He said the issues were not necessarily decriminalising drugs, but removing the drug market from gangsters.

Newham said there was “a growing global market” towards decriminalising drugs.

He said certain drugs, including dagga, which was mainly used socially, could be decriminalised and other harder drugs, including cocaine and tik, could remain illegal.

“Police could play a complementary role and police only those drugs,” Newham said.

He added that decriminalising certain drugs would free up police resources.

“Research shows that nowhere in the world can you fight drugs effectively through policing.”

Newham said that because of the economic climate, drugs were often the only source of income for dealers.

About 95 percent of the time “small-time” dagga dealers were jailed and often left prison as hardened criminals.

Newham acknowledged that the relatives of drug addicts would be among those who would not support the decriminalising of drugs and that it would be “politically not an easy thing to sell”.

“What we have typically are politicians using moral panic,” he said, explaining that politicians often called for more police to be thrown at the “serious social problem” of drug abuse.

Newham said drug abuse was a complex issue linked to lifestyles and social interventions, proven to work, were needed to clamp down on it.

“If those things worked, it would’ve worked by now. All these approaches have failed,” he said.

Criminologist Liza Grobler said she supported the decriminalisation of drugs.

“I know it’s controversial, but to me it makes sense because this is how you’ll destroy the market,” she said.

Grobler said the move could in effect cripple the drug trade.

“You’re going to pull the mat from under the dealers. It’s completely ridiculous that so many lives are destroyed,” she said, referring to the number of people killed in gang violence.

Grobler said the government was not “progressive enough” to decriminalise drugs.

Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa’s spokesman Zweli Mnisi did not comment on the minister’s stance on decriminalising drugs and instead provided the Cape Times with details about what police were doing to deal with drug use.

In terms of gangsterism, he said: “The links between gangsterism and the illicit trade in drugs is also becoming a serious concern.”

Community Safety MEC Dan Plato said he was “completely against” decriminalising drugs.

“I see on a day-to-day basis what it does to your youngsters,” he said.

“It would be a very tough nut for me to say: ‘Let’s try it.’ I think we’re not there. It’s still a very, very long way to go.”

Plato said deciding to decriminalise drugs would be “a hell of a lot of work”.

Ashley Potts, director of the Cape Town Drug Counselling Centre, said while the centre supported the decriminalisation of dagga users, it was opposed to legalising drugs.

“Gangs’ existence transcends the sale of drugs. It would be naive to even suggest that changing legislation of this nature would even dent the fabric of the existence of gangs.

“Gangs survive through calculated structures they have developed through generations,” Potts said.

- Cape Times

Infographic - Cannabis in South Africa

Cannabis in South Africa

Cape addicts wait months for treatment

Cape Town - Drug addicts in the province who cannot afford private in-patient treatment and rely on the state usually have to wait between three and four months as the centres are always full, says the social development ministry.

The South African National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (Sanca) in the Western Cape says while there are enough in-patient treatment facilities in the province, only a few addicts and their families can afford the treatment, even if state-subsidised.

However, Social Development MEC Albert Fritz’s spokeswoman, Melany Kühn, says that in-patient treatment “is not the be all and end all of treatment” and that outpatient facilities, the cheaper alternative, can be a better option.

In-patient treatment involves specialised residential treatment provided at a centre, while outpatient treatment involves people remaining in their communities while being treated.

According to a progress report from the province’s Substance Abuse Forum, set up to tackle the drug problem:

* There are six state-subsidised in-patient facilities in the Western Cape that cater for 807 people a year.

* The Social Development Department funds 17 community-based outpatient treatment centres that cater for 3 095 people a year.

* This is aside from three state-owned facilities that can cater for 1 480 people.

This means the centres collectively cater for at least 5 382 people.

According to a South African Community Epidemiology Network on Drug Use (Sacendu) report, in the second half of last year, 3 178 people were admitted for treatment at 26 centres in the province.

Kühn said the in-patient centres were “always at full capacity”.

“However, there seems to be a perception that in-patient treatment is somehow a better option.

“Depending on the screening and assessment of the client, they can be referred to either one of the options,” she said.

Bronwyn Myers, a chief specialist scientist in the Medical Research Council’s alcohol and drug abuse unit, said in-patient and outpatient facilities should not be compared, as each targeted a different set of problems.

She said it was difficult to assess if there were sufficient state-funded in-patient facilities in the province because better statistics were needed to look into, among other things, the need for drug treatment and the effectiveness of it.

However, Sanca Western Cape’s corporate services director Tertius Cronje said there were “certainly not enough” free in-patient facilities in the province.

“The fact is simply that the largest proportion of Sanca Western Cape tik patients are unemployed, which means that no employer loans are available and their families cannot afford even a substantially reduced cost.

“Unlike outpatient services, in-patient treatment is costly,” he said.

Ashley Potts, director at the Cape Town Drug Counselling Centre, also said there were too few in-patient facilities.

“Matched to the number of service users, we most certainly do not have sufficient facilities to assist for the demand for services,” he said.

Potts said people often thought in-patient treatment was better, but outpatient treatment could be preferable.

“We have seen greater success with outpatient treatment services and advocate for it,” he said.

Potts said outpatient treatment involved a client’s family more and allowed a client to manage his or her daily life and “triggers” that came with it.

He said in-patient treatment was the best for heroin addicts, who struggled the most “to stay clean”.

“In-patient treatment is also appropriate for those who are struggling as outpatients,” Potts said.

- Cape Times

Tik: the drug of choice in the Cape

Cape Town - Most drug and alcohol users who have been admitted for treatment in the province have primarily used tik, says a report on substance abuse trends.

According to a South African Community Epidemiology Network on Drug Use (Sacendu) report, in the second half of last year, 3 178 people were admitted for treatment at 26 centres in the province.

Of these, tik was the primary drug of abuse for 33 percent of them, followed by 22 percent primarily using alcohol and another 22 percent primarily using cannabis.

“(Tik) remained the most common primary drug reported by patients in the (Western Cape),” the report said.

The Sacendu report said treatment admissions for heroin as a primary drug of use had decreased in the Western Cape. But when it came to “club drugs”, including ecstasy and tik, treatment admissions for these substances was low except in this province.

The report said “the abuse of over-the-counter and prescription medicines such as slimming tablets” was an issue “across sites”.

Treatment admissions for over-the-counter or prescription medicines as a primary or secondary drug of choice stood at 1 percent in the Western Cape.

Bronwyn Myers, a chief specialist scientist in the Medical Research Council’s alcohol and drug abuse unit, said while the primary drug for those seeking treatment was tik, the primary substance of abuse within communities in the province was alcohol, followed by cannabis and then tik.

The average drug user in the Western Cape is:

* Male

* Unemployed

* Not married

* 25-29 years old

* Primarily uses tik

Based on data from the SA Community Epidemiology Network on Drug Use report (Jul-Dec 2012)

- Cape Times

Department of Social Development has its funding cut

The Department of Social Development has had its funding to fight "the scourge of drugs" cut by 18% (R2949-million).

"Substance abuse is a massive problem in our country and any cut in funding is going to have a detrimental effect. This short-term cut will have a long-term impact," said Mike Waters, DA shadow deputy minister of social development.

The South African National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (Sanca) is one of the organisations which will be affected .

Cathy Vos, national coordinator of Sanca, said though the organisation was subsidised by government it was equally dependent on alternative funding.

Busi Mthali, social worker at the Sharp Treatment Centre, a private rehabilitation clinic in Pretoria, said one of the biggest challenges in dealing with substance abuse was a lack of resources.

"**Passion doesn't pay the bills.** There are not enough social workers to deal with the large caseloads," said Mthali.

She said in-patient programmes in disadvantaged communities suffered the most due to the lack of funding and resources.

Zane Wilson, founder of South African Depression and Anxiety Group, which is also funded by the department, said: "It is too early to say what the impact will be.

"Despite the budget cuts it is a patient's right to get treatment and we will push to get them treatment."
Wilson said **Nyaope was one of the biggest problem drugs at the moment.** 

Waters added: "It is time that the department did something about the drug crisis in South Africa."

The Department of Social Development could not be reached for comment. (From TimesLive)

Cape acts on staff substance abuse

Cape Town - City of Cape Town officials estimate that about 10 percent of the 27 000 city employees have an addiction problem, with alcohol and tik abuse the most prevalent.

The city’s corporate services committee has revised the city’s substance abuse policy to take a tougher stance on drug and alcohol abusers, saying if addiction problems spiral out of control it will affect service delivery.

Herman van der Watt, manager of the city’s employee wellness programme, said addiction problems were spread throughout the city’s employment structure.

Alcohol is the prevalent substance abused among employees older than 40 and for employees between 23 and 35 the most common substance is tik.

“The city’s programme is currently mostly treating staff members employed on lower levels due to the fact that many of them have reached chronic stages of addiction that need urgent intervention. Higher level employees may never be seen by our service as they would access private treatment utilising medical aid,” Van der Watt said.

A city report said a large number of work sites were affected by drug and alcohol abuse which led to absenteeism, poor performance, criminal activity and injuries on duty.

The most vulnerable group are employees who work in public places with no close supervision.”

Van der Watt said they were discussing with occupational health and safety labour officials how to implement a screening tool.

The city’s own out-patient programme, Matrix 16 week, was established in July 2011.

Since then, 323 city employees had been referred to the programme and some were referred to in-patient rehabilitation centres.

Of the 323, 154 failed to complete it, 33 were dismissed, two passed away and five employees resigned.

Van der Watt said 114 employees had “disappeared” out of the programme in the past year but still managed to work for the city.

“The employee with the disease of addiction manages to continue to manipulate the manager, the service and also the city to their advantage, they have developed an attitude of entitlement and we often hear that they feel the (Matrix) group gives them ‘free time’ away from work and that they are only doing it to not be fired, thus leading to lip service, manipulation and passive-aggressive behaviour,” Van der Watt added.

DA councillor Courtney van Wyk, from the corporate services committee, said: “The policy addresses a zero-tolerance approach to substance abuse but also looks to provide a healthy and safe environment in line with occupational health legislation. We have to balance between being a caring city and being disciplined.”

Although the city does not have a definite figure of how many people are addicted, Van Wyk said it was clear there was a problem.

The chairman of the corporate services committee, Derrick America, said the policy was stricter but also clearer on the role of city authorities.

- Cape Times

South Africans rush to harvest cannabis plantation

A large cannabis plantation discovered on the outskirts of a South African city reportedly sent locals rushing to the scene to harvest the banned drug.

The field was found growing behind a park in Saulsville, Pretoria West, by residents on Sunday and by Wednesday, it had been virtually stripped of the drug, which is known as "dagga" in South Africa. Only three bushes which were in deep undergrowth and inaccessible remained.

One man, 32, who did not want to be named, told South Africa's Times newspaper he filled two refuse bags with the drug. "I am set for at least a year if I smoke alone," he said. "All I need now is a concealed spot where I can dry it."

Another man, who said he did not smoke the drug himself, said he filled a 25-litre bucket for his friends and relatives who were smokers.

According to the newspaper, the city's police have destroyed two other large cannabis plantations, each the size of a rugby field, in recent years.

The destroyed fields had a potential harvest with an estimated street value of around R5 million.

Possession of cannabis in South Africa is punishable by up to 15 years in prison. (The Telegraph)

Anti-Drug Alliance of SA raises the white flag. The war is lost. The drugs won.

Quintin van Kerken, the Anti-Drug Alliance of SA's CEO, said: 

"It is clear that the war against drugs is lost.

"We see more and more [drug] dealers are on the streets every day.

"There would not be so many drug dealers if there were not so many drug users.

"The fact is that we have lost the war and all that the government is doing is spending billions on catching a few criminals who are trafficking large amounts of drugs," he said.

Van Kerken said the best solution at this stage would be to legalise or decriminalise certain drugs.
He said that most of the social workers, councillors and magistrates it consulted agreed with the concept of legalisation, albeit in " hushed tones or behind closed doors". (Timeslive)

Teens selling sex for alcohol

Schoolgirls are selling their bodies beside illegal shebeens to earn money for alcohol.

Some teens as young as 16 openly admit to prostituting themselves to “sugar daddies” for cash.

The shocking revelation follows a Daily Voice investigation into the rise of underage drinking during the festive season.

Some girls confess that they turn to dirty old men who buy them alcohol in exchange for sex - because they cannot get money from their cash-strapped parents.

One 17-year-old Samora Machel resident, known only as Nthabiseng, says it’s easier to get money from guys at a shebeen than from her family.

“My parents don’t know that I drink so I get money from the guys I meet while I’m out partying,” she tells the Daily Voice.

“I don’t drink every day but I go out on weekends with my friends for some fun.

“We dress up and go out with just enough money for the first round of drinks because we know we will meet some guys there who are going to buy us some more.

“We’ll start dancing and chatting with them and then the drinks will come.

“It then means after partying we go somewhere and have sex.

“Usually it’s in the car or out in the bush.

“We don’t go to their houses.”

Some shebeen owners admit allowing teenagers into their drinking dens.

But they say they cannot always keep track of who they hang around with or leave the premises with at the end of the night.

“I’ve had my shebeen open for about five years now and I don’t usually sell alcohol to minors,” Phumla Madizeni, 40, tells the Daily Voice.

“Obviously these young ones try their luck sometimes to try and get in here - but I chase them away.

“But there are those who ask to stay and I let them because I know them.

“They come in to buy their beers and their ciders - I never ask where they get their money from.

“The younger ones usually come in groups, but I don’t interfere.

“The only time I ask questions, it’s for their age and when I tell them to leave when they start getting too drunk.”

The Daily Voice team witnessed groups of skimpily-dressed teenage girls openly drinking on the streets and dancing around drunk on the road.

And when the sun went down, the skirts got shorter - and the shorts even shorter.

Nthabiseng says the girls wear short skirts to attract more men.

“Guys only notice the girls with short dresses on and make-up,” she tells the Daily Voice.

“We dress up to look older so that we don’t get thrown out.”

Statistics released by the South African Breweries (SAB) earlier this year revealed that one in two teenagers in South Africa drink or has been drunk.

Many shebeen owners say they try to keep the teenagers out of their taverns by demanding to see IDs at the entrance.

But they admit it is hard to keep track of everyone on a busy day.

“Schoolgirls sometimes knock here at 6am while in uniform to buy beer. They often get very upset when I refuse to sell to them,” Babalwa Kenqa, 43, says.

“Once they are drunk, they have no respect for the elders, they stagger here down the road with older men shouting and screaming.”  (from IOL)

No space for baby

HOMELESS people in the Cape Town suburb of Table View have found a safe place tostore their valuables.

Unfortunately their storage facility is a special safe fitted with a hi-tech alarm system intended for desperate mothers to leave their babies if they cannot care for them.

The homeless, often referred to in the Cape as ''bergies'', have caused endless nightmares for Kim Highfield, the founder of Baby Save, which is geared at reducing the high number of abandoned babies in the province.

Last year, she had the safe mounted on to a wall of a church building in Table View. The metal structure is lined with a baby blanket and a pillow.

Once a baby is placed in the safe, an alarm is set off and within seconds Highfield receives an SMS.

Five minutes later Highfield is there to collect the baby and is always ready to help the mother.

Shortly after the project was launched in May last year, the bergies started causing trouble.

"The West Coast Family Centre very kindly said they would open the gates so the mother could walk in," said Highfield. "Instead, bergies moved in at night and their presence scared mothers away. They think the safe is a drawer to store their blankets, booze, clothing and toiletries. Sometimes they have heavy haversacks. Anything over 1.5kg lets off a signal and I get an SMS," she said.

I cannot not go. What if there is a baby there? I can't always assume it is them putting their wine and bedding in the safe."

Because of the problem, she was only able to help four babies.

Highfield will set up a similar project in the suburb of Muizenberg next year and hopes the Table View project can be saved.

Melany Kühn, spokesman for the MEC of social development, Albert Fritz, had harsh messages for the vagrants and advice for mothers.

"We strongly condemn this action by vagrants as it could eventually lead to a call not being responded to under the assumption that it's just another false alarm," said Kühn. We also appeal to mothers to seek any and all available help rather than dispose of their babies on rubbish heaps or dirt bins. This is tantamount to murder or attempted murder." (From Timeslive)

New shock for drunk drivers.

 Tell tale signs of drunk driving, and not blood tests, will be enough to land motorists in trouble with the law as the authorities seek new ways to crack down on the problem before the festive season.

Now, the authorities announced in a joint show of force on Friday, they will turn back to an existing charge of “driving under the influence of alcohol” - rather that the more commonly used “driving with a blood alcohol limit over the legal limit”, which necessitates blood testing - which means drunk drivers could be fined up to R180 000, or face as long as nine years behind bars.

Blood tests are not necessary to secure such a conviction, traffic authorities, police and prosecutors confirmed during a press conference yesterday, which was hosted by the provincial traffic department, the provincial police and the National Prosecuting Authority.

With roadblocks planned across the province during the holiday season, traffic officials will instead be looking out for the telltale signs of inebriation – unsteadiness and an inability to perform simple tasks, such as walking in a straight line or picking up a bunch of keys.

The NPA’s Mark Wakefield said that instead of simply sending suspects for blood tests, traffic officers at roadblocks would primarily search for signs of drunk driving, to use as evidence in court.

The news has, however, already prompted a top criminal attorney and a forensic expert to warn that relying on the observations of law enforcement officials to determine sobriety could be risky.

William Booth warned the authorities that their change of tack would not be without its challenges. There could be a number of innocent explanations for behaviour which could be construed as drunkenness, he argued.

Forensic expert Dr David Klatzow agreed, pointing out that the rate at which alcohol was absorbed differed between people. The observations of law enforcement officials, including that a suspect’s eyes were bloodshot or he was unsteady, would also not be able to stand up in court when challenged by a skilled cross-examiner.

Klatzow’s view was that authorities should instead focus on ensuring that forensic laboratories, which test blood samples, work efficiently.

Over the past five years traffic officials have arrested 800 to 1 000 motorists a month for offences related to drinking and driving.

To date, the NPA has had a 90 percent conviction rate.

David Frost, head of traffic management in the Western Cape government, said more than 30 000 of the 31 323 blood samples sent for testing returned positive.

The change in focus comes about two months after a Western Cape High Court judge found that the State had not proved the blood test results in a drunk driving case, because it hadn’t followed proper procedures. (from IOL)

McNamara wants drugs charges withdrawn

Former Western Cape government official Dave McNamara wants drug possession charges against him dropped, the Cape Town Magistrate's Court heard on Friday.

His attorney William Booth said he had been instructed by his client to ask the National Prosecutions Authority to withdraw the charges.

Booth said he and prosecutor Leon Snyman had agreed that McNamara would avail himself to DNA tests in order to complete the investigation.

He was arrested in June last year at inner city apartments in Cape Town after he was found in possession of the drug tik, and a broken bottle-neck used to inhale the substance.

Booth said tests had already been done on the bottle-neck, but that prosecutors now required more tests from McNamara.

At the time of his arrest, McNamara, 48, was the provincial director for community development and spearheaded programmes to combat drug abuse.

He was to have faced a disciplinary hearing, but resigned before it could take place.

Booth said McNamara agreed to submit to a second round of tests provided that his own private DNA experts could examine the test results.

“We all need finality in this matter as it has been pending for some time,” he said.

Magistrate Nadia Bonwari postponed the case to February 13, and McNamara's bail was extended. - Sapa

State seeks match with DNA on tik lolly

Cape Town - The State intends matching the DNA found on drug paraphernalia with that of former Western Cape Social Welfare Services chief director Dave McNamara, allegedly found in possession of the items last year.

Prosecutor Leon Snyman told the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court on Thursday that the forensic laboratory has been asked to analyse the tik lolly and seven packets containing tik residue allegedly confiscated from McNamara. A DNA profile had been compiled and it had to be compared with McNamara’s DNA.

McNamara, who was in charge of all social workers in the province and the Social Development Department’s programmes against drugs, resigned in September, his lawyer, William Booth, confirmed. McNamara was arrested after police stopped him at a filling station in Orange Street and found a tik lolly and seven packets on him.

McNamara had been expected to go on trial on Thursday, but Booth had written to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) to have the charges dropped.

Booth told the court Snyman had informed him the representations were unsuccessful. Booth said the DPP had explained why the submissions had been turned down, in a bundle of 20 to 25 pages.

On the DNA tests, Booth said he was concerned the tik lolly and small packets were contaminated. He noted that they had been tested in July last year. Snyman said if the defence did not co-operate with the investigating officer and allow a DNA sample to be taken, the State would seek an order forcing him to comply. Booth replied: “I indicated the item could be contaminated, not that we do not wish to co-operate.”

The matter was adjourned until November 23.

- Cape Argus

Pupils flocks to CBD drug hub

Cape Town’s Grand Parade and station deck in the CBD have become drug havens for school children, say taxi drivers, shopkeepers and security guards working in the area.

While pupils at city schools commute daily, they weave their way between drug dealers who openly offer and sell them drugs. And the youngsters freely admit that whatever their drug of choice, they’ll get it there.

They arrive in numbers after 2pm, according to security guards working in the area, who describe the pupils as “a real headache”.

And the trade is continuing unabated, even though police spokesman Warrant Officer November Filander said the Cape Town central police arrest about 180 suspects every month for possession of and dealing in drugs.

In addition, he said, regular integrated and clandestine operations were held on the station deck and the Grand Parade, “with good success”.

Amanda, a 17-year-old pupil at a city high school, told Weekend Argus this week that tik and unga were “very easy” to get in the area.

“You just know who to go to, and there’s no way that they will not have it. It all happens here at the Parade. Sometimes it’s a matter of sitting down at the bus terminus, as if you’re waiting for a bus, and the dealer will come and you do the exchange.”

She arrived by bus about 9am, smoked for about an hour, then went on to school.

“If you tell them [at school] the bus was late there’s no way they won’t let you in,” she said, explaining that she and seven friends clubbed together to buy cocktails, a mixture of unga and dagga, which they smoked daily.

“My grandmother gives me R50 for the week. My friends and I club together and one of the boys goes to buy for us. We either smoke and go to school, or we just roam around town trying to get more money to buy more,” Amanda said, adding that she began smoking unga when she was in Grade 8.

Another city school pupil, 18-year-old Keagan, said he became hooked after being given a “special cigarette”

by a dealer.

“It’s very addictive. They just call school children and say ‘come look’. The next thing you know you’re the one calling them.

“It’s quick to buy, and you don’t feel like the dealers want to hurt you because it all happens in public,” he said.

Taxi drivers said they often tried to get police to intervene, but claimed they were told to chase the drug dealers away from the station deck themselves.

“Look at them. They’re selling tik right now, in front of us. We chased them away and now there is a new group of foreigners selling tik to everyone. These children buy from them and smoke here near the taxi lines,” one driver said.

“The few times that dealers do get caught they swallow the tik, because they keep it in their mouths, or they pay the police or law enforcement to let them go,” he said.

Asked whether the police were aware of allegations of pay-offs in exchange for leaving dealers to trade freely, Filander said they were not. He added that any allegations of misconduct or corruption against police officers would be investigated, with disciplinary action and suspension to follow where relevant.

One Grand Parade shopkeeper said some school children used a nearby payphone to contact dealers in the vicinity.

“They call their dealers and find out where to meet them. School starts at 8am but around 9.30 there are children here walking around aimlessly. You can see what’s going on, I don’t know why the police can’t pick it up,” she said.

The security guards added that sometimes when they tried to chase children away, they sat with the homeless people who frequented the area.

“It would be easier to solve this if we were working with police,” one security guard said.

Filander said that while they took the allegations “very seriously”, they could do little without statements and sufficient evidence.

“Our railway stations are being monitored and patrolled by railway police and other law enforcement personnel on a daily basis, and we do make a lot of drug arrests.

“Metrorail security guards are also being sensitised to be on the lookout for any illegal activities that might occur on trains and on the railway platforms,” he added.

Asked to comment, Community Safety MEC

Dan Plato said he would raise the issue as “a matter of urgency” with provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Arno Lamoer.

“The City Improvement District, together with SAPS and the metro police, have been extremely effective in curbing drug-related crime across the city over the past 10 years.

“I will be asking the SAPS, City Improvement District and metro police to join me on a walkabout of the area, so that we can talk to the informal traders and gather more information on this situation,” Plato said. - Weekend Argus

Pregnant and drinking… on purpose

Cape Town - Reports of teenage girls drinking heavily while pregnant so their babies are born with foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), so they will qualify for disability grants, has prompted research into this phenomenon.

Leana Olivier, CEO of the Foundation for Alcohol Related Research, said reports had been received that some young women in the Eastern Cape’s Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality were “drinking heavily so their babies can be born with FAS, enabling them to qualify for a R1 200 disability grant rather than the R280 child grant”.

While such cases have not been reported in the Western Cape - known for its high FAS rate - the foundation has learnt that some pregnant women in the province drink heavily in the hope of aborting unwanted babies.

“There seems to be a developing trend to drink to kill the unborn baby or cause harm to get grants… [which] suggests foetal alcohol syndrome may be much bigger than research has established. In some provinces the problem seems… bigger than HIV/Aids,” Olivier said.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry says SA is among the top 10 countries for alcohol spending, forking out about R10 billion a year.

According to Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry Elizabeth Thabethe, while liquor trading contributed a lot in expanding the country’s economy, alcohol use had been blamed on a range of problems, including health, trauma, damage to infrastructure, social impact, and other economic costs.

While many associated FAS with poverty, unemployment and other socio-economic problems, Olivier said anecdotal reports from the private sector suggested that even those in the middle and upper class socio economic groups were affected by FAS.

Olivier blamed this on mixed messages sometimes given by doctors that suggested one glass a day of alcohol, such as wine, was acceptable during pregnancy.

Through interventions such as the Healthy Mother Healthy Baby programme - which encourages women to give up harmful substances during pregnancy - the incidence of FAS in the Northern Cape had dropped by 30 percent.

Adrian Botha, spokesman for the Association for Responsible Alcohol Use, said there was no evidence indicating how much alcohol would cause FAS.

“We believe it is not safe to consume any alcohol during pregnancy,” he said.

- Cape Argus