At least three local high school students in Redcliff, Midlands Province have committed suicide in suspected cases of drug and substance abuse.
In a recent interview with NewZimbabwe.com, Redcliff MP Lloyd Mukapiko said the issue of drug and substance abuse has become a huge headache for which solutions must be quickly sought. He said:
The situation here in Redcliff is very pathetic.
Since the closure of ZiscoSteel life has been unbearably tough for the general population. The iron producer was not only the mainstay of the economy but was also the source of livelihood.
Most people here are living in depression. It is sad that families are going to bed without knowing where they are going to get their next meal.
While some learners are dropping out of school because their families can no longer afford to send them to school.
In the process, the future of these children has been destroyed as some females are turning to prostitution while males are turning to gold panning.
In our community the issue of drugs and substance abuse has become a pandemic; and it is destroying young lives. Something needs to be done.
School going children have not been spared from this scourge. So far we have lost at least three high school students to drugs who were learning at Batanai (Zisco) High School.
The government-owned Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company (ZISCO) closed more than a decade ago.
At its height, the company was the second biggest integrated steel company in Africa, employed more than 4 000, and was the economic backbone of Redcliff and nearby Kwekwe.
However, it was forced to stop production in 2008-9, weighed down by under-capitalisation, corruption and mismanagement.
Director of Eizer Drug Rehabilitation, an institution that deals with issues of drug and substance abuse in the Midlands, Philip Ndaba said the issue of drug and substance abuse is a serious challenge not only in the Midlands but the country as a whole.
He said, in the province, at least 60% of the population was hooked on drugs.