TANZANIA: Cardinal Pengo braces the on Going Crack Down on illegal Drug trade
H.E. Polycarp Cardinal Pengo
The Archbishop of Dar es Salaam, His Eminence Polycarp Cardinal Pengo has supported the Government efforts at curbing drug trafficking and abuse as he urges Tanzanian citizens to support and cooperate with the Government to ensure a healthy nation.
Speaking to Kiongozi Newspaper, in his office recently, Cardinal Pengo said that illicit Drugs kill our people, destroy the nation and people’s health and it even affects the Church. “The problem may lead us to get addicted Lay Faithful, Religious or even Priests who cannot carry out their ministry/responsibilities,” he said.
He said that one of the ways the Catholic Church can support Government’s efforts in fighting the menace of illicit drugs is by providing proper guidance and opportunities for nurturing children right from their formative ages until they are adults. “Children should be taught properly on discipline and know their values for personal management, make right decisions, without looking for short cuts in life. Prosperity is the result of hard work and personal struggle,” he said.
He noted that among the reasons that make young people engage in drug trafficking is their need to get rich quickly. “Many who sell drugs do not use themselves but they use young people or poor people, who are unemployed and frustrated with life on the business,” said Cardinal Pengo.
Adding his voice to the war on illicit drugs, the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Rulenge –Ngara, Rt Rev Severine Niwemugizi said, “When the nation is battling against illicit drugs, we should be able to establish the root causes of the problem, why people engage in this illicit business. Failure in addressing the root causes will not make it easy for our society to respond positively to the problem and get a permanent solution.”
Recently, the Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner Mr Paul Makonda has ventured into the crackdown on illicit drug dealers, which included Police Officers, Senior Politicians, Businessmen and Religious leaders.
Some critics – including some government officials and Members of Parliament- say that the approach taken by the Regional Commissioner tarnishes a person’s image, which is harder to restore it if he or she is found innocent later. The critics came out after authorities started mentioning the names of more powerful people alleged to be involved in the illicit drug trade.
Earlier this week, the Tanzanian President, His Excellency John Pombe Magufuli, in a speech to security forces said, “In this war against narcotics, no one is too prominent to be arrested even if they are politicians, security officers, cabinet ministers or the child of a prominent person.”
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By Sarah Pelaji
