Africa-Press – Tanzania. MINISTER of State, First Vice-President’s office (Environment, HIV/AIDS, Disability, and Drugs Control) Dr Saada Mkuya Salum yesterday tabled a Bill to establish the ‘Zanzibar Drugs Control and Enforcement Authority (ZDCEA)’ as efforts towards intensifying the fight against illicit drugs.
The proposed bill replaces the 2009 ‘Drugs and Prevention of Illicit Traffic Drugs Act’ which formed Zanzibar Commission for National Coordination and Drug Control.
According to the Minister, Zanzibar President will lead the proposed Zanzibar National Drugs Control and Enforcement Council to compose Attorney General of Zanzibar; Minister of State, First Vice-President’s Office; Minister responsible for drugs control; Minister responsible for legal affairs’; Minister responsible for Regional Administration; Minister responsible for health and social welfare; Minister responsible for youths; and Minister responsible for finance; and Director of Public Prosecutions.
She said the functions of the authority include to investigate drugs offences and other related offences; take measures to control and combat drug trafficking, including arrest, search, and seizing drug offenders and other related offences.
She said that penalties range from one year to life imprisonment, and fines depending on the weight of the offences which include cultivation, ownership, distribution, trafficking and manufacturing.
Dr Salum said “For those who will smoke, inhale, sniff, inject or other uses of drugs without lawful and reasonable excuse, and they are found in any house, room or place illegally used for smoking, injecting, inhaling, sniffing drugs or without lawful and reasonable excuse, commits an offence and shall, upon conviction, be liable to a fine of not less than 5m/- or imprisonment for a term of one year or both.”
She asked members of the House to approve the proposed law, because illicit drugs are still a problem in Zanzibar, and that the current laws had weaknesses in recording success in the war.
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