By JAMES KUNDA-
LAST Sunday, Chibolya Township in Lusaka was an orgy of destruction when officers from investigative wings fought running battles with drug dealers and amok residents.
This was during a combined operation by officers from the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) and the Zambia Police, who pounced on the area to clamp down illegal trading of drugs.
The densely populated Chibolya, a suburb of Kanyama constituency, is well known for illegal trade in drugs such as cocaine, marijuana and heroin.
This place is also a hub for infamous individuals fond of conducting aggravated robberies in unsuspecting residential areas.
The anarchy that characterised Chibolya left property worth thousands of Kwacha destroyed and several people were nabbed by the police following the fracas.
It is unfortunate, however, that an attempt by regulators to uphold law and order in that area turned ugly even when the aim was clearly to safeguard the livelihood of people.
Drugs are a known threat to peoples’ health and wellbeing; hence the move by law enforcers was clearly well intended.
The business of dealing in drugs is very dangerous and can in some instances even cost life.
Government has strongly condemned the riotous behaviour, warning that it will not relent in its operations to clean up criminal activities and that those engaged in such demeanours will face the wrath of the law.
The Government actually says that there are enough trained officers to ensure that it eliminates criminals in areas prone to illegal activities.
These personnel however should not be dormant but ensure that they deal with the source where the drugs were coming from and the market where they are sold.
It was clear that officers where over powered during the fracas, although authorities claim that the riot only broke out after the officers completed their operations in the area.
This is why police should also consider setting-up a neighbourhood watchdogs in areas like Chibolya to ensure that drug dealing is totally wiped out.
If the police are subdued, they can get aid from divisions like the mobile unit to provide additional spot checks and daily patrols.
The weekend operation may have been successful according to DEC, but why has lawlessness in townships like Chibolya continued to prevail even in the wake of public attention?
This could be a revelation that people may not be dealing in drugs because they are disreputable, but because it is a means of getting income for survival.
People in some remote areas of Zambia are living in perpetual poverty and nothing can stop them from engaging in dangerous activities for their survival.
What the Government needs to do is decentralise recreation facilities to places like Chibolya where youths can be empowered with skills to keep them off drugs.
It is easy for the majority of people who find themselves caught up in the Chibolya community to fall into a trap of drug abuse because this is the order of the day there.
Government has embarked on a programme of constructing youth development centres in the country and so far, Chibolya has not been mentioned as one of the designated areas to accommodate such facilities.
Why this is so; no one knows but its food for thought and the relevant higher offices must look at the prospect of establishing such a centre in Chibolya.
Youths, especially, in that area need to be salvaged if the trend of dealing in drugs is to be halted because they are the ones used as middlemen.
Government should also extend social welfare facilities to Chibolya and similar communities so that adults are pre-occupied and do not resort to drugs.
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