DELMAS – Social relief of distress grant, a temporary provision of assistance intended for those in dire distress and are unable to meet their basic needs is being received with tribulation amongst Nyaope users in Delmas.
The largest high density suburb in the town, Botleng, is plagued with drug distribution, use and addiction. Nyaope addicts in this town constitute a large proportion of locals who are entitled to the R350 social relief of distress grant.
Botleng’s nyaope drug economy is worth millions of Rands and the drug is a key commodity underpinning the criminal economy in Delmas. This has continued to facilitate the expansion of the criminal underworld in the Nkangala. The COVID-19 disruption to daily life is an opportunity to shut down permanently the Nyaope drug trade.
The unprecedented R500 billion social and economic support package that was unveiled by the government is meant to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The package also includes a special social relief of distress grant of R350 per month which will be available for the next six months to those who are unemployed and not receiving any other form of grant or UIF payment. Payment will be done via three possible processes; an e-voucher, a mobile money transfer or bank account.
Nyaope is wreaking havoc in the lives and families of addicts in Botleng Extension 2, 3, and the greater high density areas in Delmas. Nyaope is a highly addictive and cheap drug; the R350 grant will make things worse as this is a source of money that was not there before. The Nyaope cock-tail fine powder is usually combined with dagga and has heroin as its main ingredient. National lockdown has disturbed the Nyaope drug trade; as reflected on local and provincial crime statistics.
As users of the addictive cocktail get younger in Delmas, locals are calling for urgent and swift decisive action to deal with the drug pandemic in the town. According to the Central Drug Authority, about 75 percent of former drug addicts will relapse and about half of these will relapse multiple times throughout their lifetime. Nyaope addicts in Botleng are going into remission; lockdown period is an opportune time to track down and shut local drug syndicates permanently. For nyaope users in communities like Bolteng without access to rehabilitation services, this percentage relapse may be higher.
The ENACT report, “Hiding in Plain Sight: Heroin’s Stealthy Takeover of South Africa”, estimates there are more than 100,000 regular heroin users in South Africa and a trafficking market generating about R3.6 billion in annual revenue. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has vowed that the “national drug master plan” will reduce demand, cut off supply and “ultimately free our young people from the harm that they cause.”
