By Rex Mphisa
A resident of Ward Two in urban Beitbridge has asked co-residents to consider forming an anti-drugs unit to safeguard their ward as the vice grips the country.
Rodlet Chigwinya, who manages Ward 2’s Neighbourhood Watch team said alongside safekeeping the ward from thieves and burglars, residents could start their own campaign against drugs.
“We should also start our own anti drug campaign and other dangerous substances as Ward 2, we can engage (Zimbabwe Republic Police) ZRP and the Minister Of State For Provincial Affairs and Devolution For Matebeleland South Albert Nguluvhe) so they assist us to set up our own private investigation Team within the Ward so we can fight this pandemic,” Chigwinya said on the Whatsapp platform of the ward.
Drugs spilling in from neighbouring South Africa has become a thorn in Beitbridge where drug peddlers are taking advantage of a porous border post to make easy their trafficking.
Scores of youths in the border town are using drugs and several are wasted which has become of concern.
Several drug busts have taken place in Beitbridge but the community finds itself between a hard rock and a stone as the whole town is littered by bottles of habit forming cough syrups banned in Zimbabwe.
Other hard drugs are known to be distributed in other parts of the sprawling town.
Chigwinya suggests that together with the Neighbourhood Watch team, Ward Two be a no-go area for drugs trades with those teams sniffing out residents engaged in the illicit trade.
Recently Ward Two Neighbourhood Watch arrested a gang of burglars that had become a menace in the area who have since been jailed for a long time.
Some thieves abandoned their donkey powered cart after they were disturbed at a house they had raided.
Beitbridge residents have mixed feelings with the prevalence of drugs they believe could be stopped if security agents and the courts become stricter.
On the Neighbourhood Watch Chigwinya encouraged residents to consistently pay their contributions towards running of the security team.
“The challenge is all people can only pay for the first 2 – 3 months, and during that time there might be no attacks, the moment we relax and stop paying we go under attack,” he said.
A southern section of the Ward alongside the railway line has often come under attack from armed robbers who quickly slip into nearby SA.