The rampant drug abuse in urban centers has attracted the attention of the Vice President, Edward Kiwanuka Ssekandi.
He expressed the concern in a speech read for him by his private Principal Secretary, Vincent Kityamuwesi Musubire at the 15th General Annual Meeting of the Alliance of Mayors and Municipal Leaders on HIV/AIDS in Africa-AMICAALL at Mariaflo hotel in Masaka municipality.
In the speech, Ssekandi noted that the rising level of drug abuse is to blame for the high crime levels in urban centers.
He noted that many youths in urban centers are sitting on time bombs, which will explode anytime if nothing is done to address the drug abuse. The Vice president explained that youths form the bulk of the people in towns standing at over 60 percent.
He however, said it is worrying that more than 40% of the youths are involved in drug abuse, something he says is dangerous. He asked the urban authorities to do whatever it takes to address the challenge.
According to Ssekandi, the failure to resolve the problem of drug abuse will undermine the goals fighting HIV/AIDS, saying many of those using drugs don’t see the value of their lives.
He also noted that fighting criminals and crime becomes difficult where the use of alcohol, fuels and marijuana among others substances is uncontrolled. Ssekandi promised to open up links with provinces in China especially Sichuan to establish partnerships with the urban authorities given his position as vice president in the China Africa Cooperation.
The Masaka Mayor, Godfrey Kayemba says they are pushing for pushing for the enactment of strong laws to stem drug abuse because the existing laws give lighter sentences and punishments to offenders. He disclosed that such offenders are always charged with offences like being a public nuisance and idle and a serve for a very short time.
The AMICAALL Country Director, Titus James Twesige agreed that most urban centers are stuck with the challenge of drug abuse, saying that the leaders are trying their best to address the challenge.
He says that they are aware that the use of intoxicants is one of the challenges escalating the spread of HIV/AIDS and crime. He thanked government for funding various development projects in urban centers citing the Uganda Support to Municipality Infrastructure Development (USIMID), which has changed the look of the beneficiary municipalities.
–URN
