MINISTER of Home Affairs, Mr. Clement Rohee said, last Wednesday that some aspects of the Drug Strategy Master Plan have been implemented and the second phase is “a work in progress.” He added that those to be put in place require collaboration with other agencies and his ministry is not the designated agency with the capacity to fulfill but has to work with a number of government agencies, requiring an inter-agency approach.
“Some people have the misconception that the Drug Strategy Master Plan has to be implemented by the ministry but, if one would read it carefully, there are a number focal points that are assigned responsibility to fulfill certain programmes. So, it is not the ministry that is exclusively responsible for implementing the plan.
“Our task is to lead the process and, in doing so, we bring the other agencies on board so that those that are not fully or partially implemented could move on a much faster pace, given the collaboration,” Rohee explained.
He said the second phase of the plan is to be drafted and he is hoping for its completion this year.
Meanwhile, arrangements have commenced for the formulation of a new five-year Drug Strategy Master Plan, to build on the work that began under the 2005-2009 blueprint.
Of the 36 recommended programmes under the old plan, a total of 33 were implemented, 15 of which can be termed ongoing, Rohee said.
The National Drug Strategy Master Plan comprises extensive measures to eliminate the scourge of narco-trafficking and its spinoff effects.