By Kemo Cham
Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio has declared a National Emergency on drug and substance abuse, vowing to clampdown on the Kush crisis he described as an epidemic that required concerted efforts to address.
Bio also called the ongoing drug crisis as an an existential threat to the country’s future.
“Our country is currently faced with an existential threat due to the ravaging impact of drugs and substance abuse, particularly the devastating synthetic drug, Kush,” the President said in a nationwide address aired live on state broadcaster, SLBC.
“We are witnessing the destructive consequences of Kush on our country’s very foundation, our young people, in spite of government’s effort to stop the proliferation of drugs,” he added.
The scheduled address comes as concerns grow over the proliferation of the drug crisis, particularly Kush.
The cannabis based drug is manufactured with a blend of chemicals and other strange ingredients, including human bones, according to people familiar with it.
There is no reliable data on the extent of the damage Kush has caused, but campaigners say hundreds of young people have lost their lives due to the drug. Communities affected complain of a corresponding rise in criminal activities, including theft, associated with the drug abuse crisis.
President Bio in his address said his administration had made concerted efforts to combat the epidemic, but that the country was experiencing a surge in Kush consumption and escalating fatalities among its users. He stressed that addressing the situation required collective efforts by everyone.
The announcement comes hours after the police raided the home of a relative of the President, Admire Bio, who has been repeatedly named among people suspected of involvement in the Kush business.
The Sierra Leone police confirmed the raid, saying that the compound belonging to Admire and her husband Dauda Jalloh were raided in response to these allegations made online.
But the police later said nothing of interest was found after the raid in the compound that is located in the outskirts of the capital city.
Earlier this week, the Bio Administration hosted a town hall meeting on Kush. At that event, Vice President Dr Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, who chairs the Presidential Taskforce on Drugs and Substance Abuse, outlined the government’s plan to intensify efforts against the crisis.
Vice President disclosed at the meeting that authorities had just intercepted a container full of chemicals used to manufacture Kush and that eight people had been detained in connection to it.
President Bio in his address on Thursday evening reiterated the government’s stance against the continued proliferation of drug and substance abuse, saying that his administration will, among others, intensify efforts at all levels, including legislative measures to hit hard on those behind the drug trade in the country.
There would be no sacred cow in his government’s efforts to counter the drug menace, he vowed.
He disclosed that he would be directing the formation of a National Taskforce on Drug and Substance Abuse, which he said would particularly focus on combating the rising Kush crisis.
The presidential taskforce will supervise the national taskforce, he said.
“With this national emergency on drug and substance abuse, we shall broaden the scope of the government’s task force’s work and adopt a multifaceted approach to addressing the increasing kush epidemic,” he said.
According to the president, in the coming days and weeks, a national public dialogue will be engaged upon to determine the core mandates of the taskforce.
“The national task force will be multisectoral, comprising key government Ministries, departments and agencies,” the president said, noting that it will also entail security and law enforcement agencies, religious entities, development partners and people recovering from drug addiction.
He said his administration intends to achieve a drug-free future for Sierra Leone through a five-path strategy that entails: Prevention, Care and treatment, Social services support, Law enforcement, and Community engagement.
“The strategy will encompass all facets of society,” he said.
