Story by Wellington Makonese
THE National Committee on Drug and Substance Abuse has launched a nationwide festive season awareness campaign aimed at curbing drug and alcohol abuse, amid growing concerns over holiday-related road accidents.
The long-term campaign was launched at Mbare Musika Terminus, one of the country’s busiest transport hubs, where motorists, commuters, and traders were engaged to promote responsible behaviour during the festive season.
Through roadshows and direct interaction, authorities are spreading anti-drug and alcohol abuse messages.
“This campaign is very important because many accidents happen when people drink and drive, especially during the festive season,” a travel expert said.
“The message is clear. As drivers, we must avoid alcohol and drugs so that we arrive safely with our passengers,” a motorist said.
From Mbare to Harare, Beitbridge, Plumtree, Chirundu, Nyamapanda to Mutare routes, there have been such campaigns, with a key feature of this year’s campaign being the intensified use of breathalysers.
“We see many people traveling now. Awareness like this helps people think twice before taking alcohol and driving,” a passenger said.
“The use of breathalysers is good because it discourages reckless driving and helps reduce accidents on the roads,” a concerned resident said.
“During the festive season, people are excited, but we must remember safety first. Drinking and driving is dangerous,” a driver said.
“We support this campaign because it protects lives. If everyone follows the rules, there will be fewer accidents,” a resident said.
The initiative brings together multiple stakeholders, underscoring a coordinated national response to drug and substance abuse.
“The festive season is a high-risk period. Our objective is to protect lives by encouraging responsible behaviour and discouraging drug and alcohol abuse. We are here, providing information to motorists, that we have anti-drug and substance abuse information that we are giving to the motorists. And we are discouraging them from taking drugs and alcohol. This will result in the bodies in Zimbabwe resulting in death, particularly during this season.
We hope that by doing this, we are going to reduce the incidence of these campaigns. And as you can see, there are fertilizers there that will be found to be intoxicated with drugs that will be fed to our law enforcement agencies. You know, people are traveling from their areas of work to their rural areas. There is a lot of joy in Combis, especially in this season. So these are the major highways where we have high traffic volumes. We stand around, so we are targeting this highway. We have several committees involved in the supply reduction,” the Acting Chief Director of Social Development and Disability Affairs in the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare, Mr Tawanda Zimhunga said.
Statistics indicate that most accidents are a result of human error, with drunken driving among the causes, hence the concerted efforts to eliminate drug and substance abuse.
