By Ragan M. Conteh

Members of Parliament from both side of the aisle have urged President Bio to make public statement on Kush.

According to MPs the statement from the head of state will go a long way in fighting against kush in the country.

They cited the Ebola and corona days when a state of emergency was proclaimed which results to end the viruses.

MPs disclosed that “police officers are part of the Kush cartels operating in the country and are also taking the drug”.

Making her submissions, Hon Neneh Lebbie from Bo district, said women of Sierra Leone are crying for their children who are currently dying of smoking the deadly Kush.

She said police officers are no more seen as A Force for Good but A Force for Bad.

Hon Lebbie furthered that police officers who supposed to tackle Kush smoking and selling and importation are themselves the perpetrators.

She went on that until the police step up their activities and robustly fight to end Kush smoking by youth before they could stop dying.

“Looking at the manner in which police are conducted themselves, if I am to rate police officers; I will rate them 2%,” she said.

In his statement, the Parliamentary Leader of government business disclosed that “MPs had realized that most of the harmful drugs pass through our borders and the Sierra Leone Port and Harbour Authority”.

He said Parliament has seen on social media police officers intoxicated with harmful drugs.

He said teenagers and youth are dying these days due to the harmful drug (kush).

He said the purpose of the meeting is to provide solutions to these harmful drug.

Giving a status update on the harmful drug, the Executive Director of National Drugs Law Agency, Andrew Jaia Kaikai said he was passionate about the fight against kush.

He said, presently, there are 36 drug users are at the government rehabilitation center.

He said the agency had engaged schools, communities and host of other communities all to ensure that the drug intake is addressed.

“This is one job, Kush fight, whether paid or not I will continue to fight to end.”

“If we allow all these kush spots to continue to ravage and kill all the young generation, who will feed Sierra Leone?” he asked.

Jaia Kaikai said the Law Enforcement Agency only has 12 permanent staff.

He buttressed that his agency does not have bicycle nor electricity supply to do their work.

Representatives from Social Welfare, Mohamed Haji Kellah, said the Ministry and other agencies are working on a multi-sectoral approach to address the menace.

The center is only hosting 50 people, adding that the Ministry had registered over 300 Kush in takers who are yet to be taking to rehabilitation centers, and thousands are still languishing in the streets.

The Deputy Minister of Social Welfare, Mohamed Haji Kellah pleaded for more centers and resources to be replenished to do the work aim at forestalling Kush existence in the country.

He said the ministry doesn’t have the right place to host such huge drug ‘intakers’.

Representatives from Health Ministry, the Chief Medical Officer said they have collected data.

He said when they collected data they allowed the Standard Bureau to do a test on such the narcotic drug.

He said as a ministry they had realized that Kush have very much acidulous substance.

He said the number of cases of deaths from it is increasing at an alarming rate.

He maintained that  2020 they registered drugs cases of 222, in 2021 the number increased to 819 and in 2022 the cases shoot up to 1, 059 while in  2023 drug intake cases went to 2, 125, adding that all those engage on kush consumption are between 10 to 35 years.

He confirmed that the health sector may not be able to handle Kush fight online.

He said what the ministry discovered from these kush smokers was that even when they are taken into the rehabilitation center, removing them from smoking it is very much challenging to accept.

Director General of the Sierra Leone Ports and Harbour Authority said, Yankuba Bio informed that the Port has various authorities in to the port.

He said currently Kush is not only coming from the port but at different locations and border points.

He said it is difficult to curtail some of these Kush cartels at the port.

He said SLPHA has 38 drug barons in court but some are still roaming in the city with working steadily due to judicial system, according to info.

He spoke on the cross border points where some of these drug substances are coming into the country.

The Director General of the National Revenue Authority, Kadiatu Jeneba Bangura said the people who bring drug into the country are hiding.

She said it is important to work on information and to show commitment to control the spread of kush in the country.