Isiolo Youth Council Chairman Nur Sheriff has appealed to the county government to open a rehabilitation centre in the area to help free over 200 youths from hard drugs’ addiction bondage.
Mr Sherif recommended the centre to be opened at County Referral Hospital even as he called for concerted efforts amongst stakeholders in order to win the war against drugs.
He urged Governor Abdi Ibrahim Guyo to also purchase Methadone drugs that he noted reduce drug desire.
Sheriff who was accompanied by the chairman of Isiolo parent association Ismael Galma said young people should be engaged in various social and development activities to keep them busy claiming some take drugs as a result of idleness.
He said the number of hard drug abusers keeps on rising and blamed security officers of arresting the abusers instead of drug dealers. “The number is still increasing since high school students in slums are joining their peers in consumption of the drugs, hence ending up dropping out of schools,” he said.
Mr Sheriff alleged some senior County government workers in the previous regimes used to misappropriate money allocated for economically empowering youth, women and people living with disabilities to improve their livelihood.
Mr Galma on his part said that for the last 10 years no youth training has been done in the County also claiming that funds allocated for that purpose ended in corrupt officers’ pockets.
He appealed to the governor and the County Commissioner Geoffrey Omoding to help the young generation, 40 percent of who, he alleged are victims of hard drugs. He feared that if no efforts are made more than half of the many drug abusers in the area will not have families or see 50th, birthday.
The parent association’s leader added that the number of divorces and separations among couples in the area had risen since most youthful husbands due to abusing drugs were irresponsible.
