Government Chemist readjusts to cope with flooding drug samples
Government Chemist Laboratory Agency (GCLA) expects to handle almost three times the number of drug samples this year compared to last year as a result of intensified crackdown on narcotics.
The Chief Government Chemist (CGC), Professor Samwel Manyele, told reporters in Dar es Salaam yesterday that the agency is likely to handle 150,000 drug samples this year, an increase of 250 per cent from last year’s 60,000 samples.
The war against drug abuse and trading has recently intensified, initially taking its shape from Dar es Salaam before spreading to other regions. Several people, some of them public figures were named in the lists of drug kingpins or users and summoned for questioning by police.
Sased number of drug samples the agency receives has prompted the office to quickly reform the working strategies to cope with the workload. Among others, the agency has introduced a Sample Receiving Office (SRO) for drugs to speed up testing and provision of results so that the justice is made on suspects.
“We are well organised to ensure that we accord the police a necessary cooperation in dealing with drug cases... and, we have built capacity among our staff to enable them properly deal with drug cases,” Prof Manyele said.
Meanwhile, the GCLA has purchased a modern laboratory equipment, Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) for testing type and amount of metals in samples.
The EDXRF, which cost 46,266 US dollars (about 100m/-), has been installed at the Southern zonal office in Mbeya as part of decentralizing the agency’s services from Dar es Salaam’s head office.
“Having this equipment THE Minister for Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children, Ms Ummy Mwalimu, has ordered the Director of Children in her ministry to furnish her with a report on schoolgirl pregnancies, within this month.
The one-month ultimatum requires the Director to avail a detailed report on how many heads of schools have submitted quarterly reports to the Commissioner of Education on the number of teen pregnancies and child marriages in their schools.
Minister Mwalimu, who was launching a report on a yearlong survey on reasons and impacts of child marriages in the country, yesterday, stressed that it is a legal requirement stipulated in the Education Act of 2016 for heads of schools to provide quarterly reports to the Commissioner of Education.
“The Education Act of 2016 amended by Parliament requires heads of primary and secondary schools to provide quarterly reports to the Commissioner of Education. Who has followed this up to find out if these reports have been submitted to the Commissioner of Education? No one,” she said.
She added: “As we seek to change and amend laws that discriminate against children including the Marriage Act of 1971, this will amount to nothing if we do not follow up to ensure the laws are implemented and adhered to.” Ms Mwalimu explained that all stakeholders have been blaming guardians and parents, yet laws that were amended to provide stiffer penalties to those who marry or impregnate school-going children are not being implemented by respective authorities.
“Director, if I ask you how many heads of schools have submitted the report, you will not be able to tell me. So within one month, I want a countrywide report on how many heads of schools have submitted quarterly reports as the law requires,” the visibly angry Minister stressed.
She explained that the Education Act of 2016 has also stated that any head of school who does not submit the quarterly reports would have committed a criminal offence, “and there is also a penalty for that. I am not very sure how many days in jail.
This is a legal requirement, the head teacher has no option in this.” The Minister stressed that without jailing guardians and parents who encourage child marriages, government and stakeholders’ efforts to eradicate the vice in the country would be futile.
Minister Mwalimu also directed community development officers under her ministry to provide her with a report on the implementation of the Education Act of 2016, with regard to child marriages and teen pregnancies in their respective councils.
“Each community development officer must tell us their input in the implementation of the law which has provided stiffer penalties to those marrying and impregnating schoolgirls,” she explained.
She further urged NGOs, development partners and other stakeholders to move their bases to rural areas where child marriages and teen pregnancies are high. “It is in the rural areas that we have higher rates of child marriages and teen pregnancies and not in urban areas where the NGOs and other stakeholders are based,” she urged.
Ms Mwalimu commended all stakeholders involved in the yearlong research, pledging that the government will work on recommendations provided in the report to safeguard the girl child.
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Assistant Representative, Christine Mwanukuzi, expressed hope that the research will change the current trend of child marriages.
The Deputy Head of Commission at the Swedish Embassy, Mr Ulf Kallstig, said real steps must be taken for the advancement of women and girls in all areas of society. “We should remember that this is a gender inequality matter.
The ones who will make a difference are those who are able to overcome obstacles and challenges in their path,” he said. The report titled ‘National Survey on Child Marriage:
Assessing the Drivers and Consequences of Child Marriage in Tanzania’, cited norms, cultural practices and community attitude, poverty and discriminating laws as the major drivers of child marriages in the country.
The research, which was conducted by REPOA, recommended among others, amendment or change of the discriminating laws and in-depth education for community, parents and guardians and girls.
Tanzania has one of the highest child marriage prevalence rates in the world and according to the 2016 Tanzania Demographic Household Statistics (TDHS), 36 per cent of women between 20 and 24 years old were married before their 18th birthday. This means one third of all girls in the country were married when they were still children.