Senegal's proximity to South America and Europe and its good air and seaport links make its capital, Dakar, a most attractive transit point for illicit drugs. But the country has one of the most comprehensive anti-drug laws anywhere, though it concedes it is far from overcoming the problem. The Drug Law of 1997 covers the entire breadth of the problem -- from apprehending and punishing offenders to rehabilitating abusers. Senegal also has in place a $4.39 mn Plan of Action for 1998-2000 to fight drugs, while the United Nations Drug Control Programme is training its laboratory technicians.
The threat is both external and local. Cannabis, for example, is the local drug of choice. Farmers prefer to grow the drug because it fetches 20 times more money per kilogram than groundnuts, Senegal's principal crop. And they are paid spot cash, before harvest. Increasingly, cannabis is being exported. Its preponderance in the country, however, does not exclude transshipments from Asia through Senegal or neighbouring countries. But a greater danger is the transshipment through the country of cocaine, heroine and psychotropic drugs. Cocaine comes to Senegal from Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
Cannabis abusers in Senegal are generally the poor. Children as young as 12 are increasingly smoking cannabis, according to Mr. Mamadou Fofana, the coordinator of Senegal's Inter-ministerial Committee for the War Against Drugs. A few of the abusers come from the upper social bracket, who take cocaine, heroine and crack. Only they can afford the high cost of such narcotics.
Senegal has no drug addiction treatment centres to help victims, some of whom roam the streets. Those from rich families are hidden at home because of the social stigma associated with drug abuse. Only a few non-governmental organizations have, with limited government aid, been helping sensitize the public on the dangers of drugs. One is the Jacques Chirac Drug Sensitization and Information Centre in Thiaroye, on the outskirts of Dakar.
Despite all the drugs passing through Senegal, there is as of yet little hard evidence of money laundering in the country. But Mr. Fofana warns that the problem could become much worse.
A decade ago, Zambia was a mere transit point for illicit drugs destined for nearby South Africa. Today, it is a gateway and distribution centre for drugs going to Europe and North America. Fueled by rapid urbanization and economic hardships, drug trafficking has increased substantially, luring some Zambians in search of quick money. The country's Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) says trafficking has multiplied more than a thousand times over the past seven years.
The country's drug problems first came into the public limelight in 1985 when some 25 prominent Zambians were detained on charges of trafficking and a tribunal was set up to investigate the charges. "It was from this tribunal that the country noticed that something had gone wrong with the economy and the people were using drugs ... to buy motor vehicles and other luxury goods," says DEC Senior Assistant Commissioner Mukutulu Sinyani.
Cannabis, grown in the country, tops the list of illicit drugs. DEC is dealing with the problem through a cannabis eradication programme and crop substitution for peasant farmers dependent on it. Other drugs that have emerged on the Zambian market include heroin, hashish, cocaine and mandrax.
Also known as methaqualone, mandrax is smuggled from the Indian sub-continent, and is such a hot commodity that it is used as a medium of exchange for goods and services. It is exchanged for groceries and other household goods in South Africa, which are then transported to Zambia.
An increasing number of Zambians are arrested for trafficking, of whom the majority of couriers are women. For example, 80 per cent of the Zambians arrested abroad in 1996 and 75 per cent of those arrested in 1997 were women.
Another problem associated with drug trafficking is money laundering. Investigations by DEC show that the high rate of bank fraud in the country is a by-product of laundering activities. In the past year, DEC has seized more than $5 mn in connection with irregular financial transactions. In January 1998 alone, DEC seized about $3 mn from one bank for involvement in money laundering. The bank has since been closed. DEC has recommended that the government should urgently enact an anti-money laundering law.
Although Kenya has established an anti-narcotics police unit and hosts one of the three offices in Africa of the UNInternational Drug Control Programme, drug syndicates not only use sophisticated methods but also have effectively pocketed some law enforcement agents, despite the government's determination to combat the problem. In a well-documented 1997 court proceeding, one District Officer and four policemen were sentenced to long jail terms for complicity in bringing drugs into the country.
Photo: UN / Evan Schneider
The well-organized syndicates operate in the capital, Nairobi, and the seaside port city of Mombasa. Even the country's anti-drug laws, enacted in 1994, have been criticized for prescribing heavy punishment for drug abusers but leaving suppliers unscathed.
"Drug trafficking is a business of the rich and powerful. It is a network that is difficult to break," a recent forum concluded. And Mr. Samuel Limo, the Coast Provincial Commissioner, warned last month that if urgent measures are not taken to deal with the menace, Kenya, which has become a major transit point, might be transformed into a "narco state" in which the drug trade is a way of life.
Equally disturbing is the rise in drug abuse. Churches and schools have expressed concern over the "alarming increase" of drug abuse in schools. Most of the hard drugs, such as heroine and cocaine, that find their way into the communities are diverted from the shipments from Asian countries and South Africa that are headed for Europe and North America, according to the police.
"Drug abuse is a real monster and is one of the most devastating and crippling scourges facing mankind," the Provincial District Officer of Education in Nairobi, Mr. Erastus Kiungu, told a meeting of head-teachers in March. Findings of a study undertaken by the Child Welfare Association, released during the same month, revealed that one in every 15 Kenyan students is on drugs. This group primarily abuses bhang and hashish. Other studies indicate that 60 per cent of drug abusers are below 30 years of age.
Effectively tackling Kenya's growing drug problem will require more than just committed government action. It also needs greater international cooperation. As Minister of State Marsden Madoka observed at the 8-10 June UN anti-drug summit in New York:"Experience has proved that no single country can successfully control the drug menace within its boundaries."
