By Michael Owusu Duodu
Bechem (Ahafo Region), May 17, GNA – Mr Emmanuel Kwame Frimpong, the Tano South Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), has called for stronger collaboration among stakeholders to address the growing incidence of youth substance abuse and drug peddling in the municipality.
He described the situation as alarming, noting that youth involvement in substance abuse posed a major challenge to the development of the area.
“Our major challenge now is the growing youth substance abuse in Tano South,” he said.
He therefore emphasised the need for collective action to bring the problem under control.
Mr Frimpong made the call in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on the sidelines of the First Ordinary General Meeting of the Tano South Municipal Assembly held at Bechem, the municipal capital.
He warned that substance abuse among the youth presented a bleak future for the municipality, as it continued to threaten their lives and prospects.
“The situation now is troubling, endangering the lives and future of our youth,” Mr Frimpong noted, urging young people to desist from drug use and other social vices and instead channel their time and energies into productive activities.
He indicated that the Assembly was working closely with key stakeholders and had intensified sensitisation campaigns in communities to educate the youth on the dangers of substance abuse and drug trafficking.
However, he emphasised that more efforts were required to effectively tackle the problem.
He further appealed to the Bechem Traditional Council, as well as chiefs and queen mothers in the municipality, to take a leading role in the fight against substance abuse at the community level.
The meeting was presided over by Nana Asiwobour Osei Bonsu III, Paramount Chief of the Bechem Traditional Area.
GNA
Edited by Dennis Peprah/Lydia Kukua Asamoah