NOT so long ago Zanzibar was regarded as a symbol of civilisation, morality and righteousness. Unfortunately, the spice islands as the Isles are often referred to as, have taken a different path.
Things are no longer the same on the
beautiful, historic Islands. While civilisation and uprightness remain
intact for a larger population, crime incidents and drug abuse among the
youth are on the rise and are a worrying aspect among noble islanders.
The locals are dismayed by this shift of
paradigm. Thus they would not shy away from warning a visitor to be
watchful of a few felons and naughty guys whose population is soaring
day by day in the growing cities of Zanzibar.
Increased cultural interference with
non-islanders is one of obvious reasons for the moral decay experienced
in Zanzibar currently, but the rise in teenage drug use is to blame for
the spiraling of criminalities.
Drug barons have turned the beautiful
sand beaches of Zanzibar into a hub of the global drugs trade,
exploiting the island's strategic position off the East Coast of Africa
as a stop-off connecting producers in North America and Far East with
consumers in the developed world.
In recent years, Zanzibar has
increasingly been used as a warehousing site and transit route for
illicit drugs and precursor chemicals. And the greed for easy money
tempts youth to engage in the drug trade.
The growth in illegal hard drugs trade
in Zanzibar is said to have escalated after a recent crackdown in
Mainland Tanzania - which drug cartels used as the main dispersal points
for illicit drugs.
The all-out war on drug dealers pushed
them to the Isles. The consequence of drug abuse among the youth is
detrimental due to the rising of drugrelated harms in Zanzibar such as
crimes, violence, corruption, HIV Aids and fatal overdose.
The government and families are losing a
dependable workforce. Currently, there are over 20 sober houses across
Zanzibar and that gives a clue about the magnitude of the problem and a
need for a comprehensive approach to combat the threats posed by drug
trafficking and related-harms.
Drug abuse is a huge concern for the
government and civil societies. Given Zanzibar's tinny size and small
population, rising drug among the young generation poses a big threat to
the well-being of this Island with around 1 million people.
The government of Zanzibar is concerned
with rising drug abuse among its people and is determined to make
Zanzibar unfavourable, a high-risk and a low value territory for drug
barons.
Second-Vice President, Ambassador Seif
Ali Iddi, speaking during the launch of Tanzania Green Crescent
Community (TGCC) here last week, reiterated the government's commitment
to fighting the drug menaces in the island and make Zanzibar
unfavourable, a high-risk and a low value territory for drug dealers.
Amb. Iddi said in its quest to make the
country drug free, the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar is fighting
on all fronts to deter producers, sellers and users of the illicit
drugs.
Amb. Iddi warned that no culprit will be
spared in the war against drug peddling and abuse, saying perpetuators
of hard drugs business will be searched upon, apprehended and taken to
court to face arm of the law.
"Like many other countries that have
been affected by drug abuse, Zanzibar is experiencing a rising number of
drug addicts, we're all witness how our youth are being affected by
drugs. These young addicts are the nation's labour force and the
dependable workforce of their families," the vice-president said in a
statement read on his behalf by the Minister for Work, Employment,
Empowerment, Elders, Youth, Women and Children, Mr Moudline Castico.
Despite government's resolve to fighting
drugs, the existence of an ill-equipped AntiNarcotics Police Unit makes
the war against strong drug cartels a difficult mission. The law
enforcing agent concedes that controlling the flow of illegal drugs from
abroad is proving to be a herculean task for the unit.
A report on the status of drug abuse and
trade in Zanzibar ranging from January 2016 to May, 2017 issued by the
Anti-Narcotic Unit in the force recently paints a gloomy of the Island's
drug war.
The report highlights a range of
obstacles hindering the war against drug trafficking and abuse, which
range from poor working environment, lack of modern working instruments
and incompetence to ineffective laws, porous borders, corruption and
public irresponsiveness.
Despite being tasked with one of the
trickiest and dangerous task, the Anti-Narcotic Unit raises concern that
they are using a small building which does not adequately meet their
requirements as far as their responsibilities are concerned.
"The building has a dire shortage of
furniture and the stores used for storing exhibits are not safe, which
could result to the loss of those exhibits. There is no custody suite
for drug suspects, so they kept in other police stations," reads the
report.
Inadequate or lack of working
instruments such as computers, cars for patrols, detection dogs and drug
detection machines are other main challenges faced by Anti-Narcotic
Unit.
"Our police officers in checkpoints use
outdated meth ods to detect drugs simply the Unit often faces a shortage
of modern equipment," says the report, adding that the Isles
Anti-Narcotic Police have not been trained at all to patrol the streets
and carry out law enforcement operations.
On the other hand, deficiencies in hard
drug laws are used as loopholes by corrupt and unpatriotic judges to
dismiss drug cases and let drug suspects free, allowing them perpetuate
the drug trade, claims the report.
Out of 363 drug cases, only 104 were
filed in courts between January and December last, of which only seven
suspects were convicted, 12 were acquitted and 44 were released by
police.
Investigation into 196 cases is yet to
be completed, with some suspects who were bailed out pending
investigation said to disappear alongside their guarantors.
From January to May this year, a total
number of 250 drug cases have been filed, of which only 19 cases have
been filed into the court. Two suspects were convicted while
investigation for 221 is still going on.
Eight suspects have been released by
police. The Anti-Narcotic Unit's efforts in combatting drug trafficking
at Airport and Zanzibar Port proves futile, given that there are about
500 unofficial ports across the Indian Ocean Islands which enable drug
cartels operate their business easily.
The report calls for increased number of
law enforcement authorities, improving their capacity and use of modern
and innovative technology to fighting drug abuse, smuggling and
uncovering the market for illegal substances.
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