SLPP Government Accused of Neglect in Kush Crisis Despite Rehab Centres

By Musa Paul Feika

Sierra Leone The government of President Julius Maada Bio is facing mounting criticism for what many describe as a lackadaisical and half-hearted response to Sierra Leone’s worsening kush crisis, despite having built rehabilitation centres that remain largely non functional.

The revelations came from Ibrahim Samuel Dugba, Acting Director of Drug Prevention and Education at the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), who disclosed that several state rehabilitation centres have been established on paper and in brick, but remain empty and non-operational due to the government’s failure to provide funding, staffing and essential medical supplies.

Centres Without Care,
“Facilities can be built on paper and brick, but that does not mean they can treat someone addicted to synthetic drugs,” Dugba warned in an interview with Liberty TV. His remarks confirmed what many Sierra Leoneans have long suspected: that the government’s much-publicised rehabilitation projects are more symbolic than practical, designed to score political points rather than deliver care.

According to Dugba, families seeking help for addicted loved ones are being turned away as centres lack of medical. This revelation undermines the government’s repeated claims of tackling the kush epidemic through new facilities, when in fact those facilities remain idle shells.

A National crisis mishandled
Kush, a cheap synthetic drug, has devastated communities across Sierra Leone, leaving thousands of young people addicted, mentally unstable, and physically deteriorated. In poorer neighbourhoods, users can be seen slumped in streets, untreated and abandoned. Civil society and international organisations have sounded the alarm, describing the crisis as a national public health emergency.

Yet, instead of decisive government action, the SLPP administration has been accused of treating the issue with complacency. The launch of a rehabilitation centre at the Peace Mission Training Centre in Hastings earlier this year was touted as a major milestone by the government, but insiders confirm the centre lacks sustained funding and professional staff to function effectively.

Social Analysts say the government has been more focused on publicity than delivery. While the NDLEA and partners such as the International Organization for Migration (IOM) have signed MoUs and organised youth outreach, these small-scale efforts cannot replace a nationwide, fully funded rehabilitation system.
Critics argue that the SLPP’s “launch and abandon” approach is costing lives. Families are forced to improvise treatment at home or resort to restraining addicted relatives, a practice condemned internationally. Meanwhile, government officials continue to boast of infrastructure that exists only in theory.

The Human Cost
Community volunteers describe scenes of despair: young men roaming the streets like shadows of themselves, families torn apart by addiction, and villages resorting to makeshift interventions in the absence of proper medical care. “We hear the government say they have built centres, but when we take our children there, they say no doctors, no beds, no medicine,” one parent lamented in Freetown.

Public-health experts insist that an effective response requires immediate staffing of centres, procurement of detoxification medicines, clear referral pathways, and long-term reintegration programmes. Instead, Sierra Leoneans see a government dragging its feet while addiction destroys a generation.
Dugba’s comments amount to a damning indictment of the SLPP administration, which critics say has failed to prioritise the crisis despite repeated warnings. Instead of operationalising existing centres, the government continues to seek donor applause for unfinished gestures.

In conclusion, the NDLEA’s message is clear: Sierra Leone has the facilities to fight kush but not the political will. The SLPP government’s complacency has left families desperate and communities overwhelmed. Unless the government moves beyond hollow announcements and invests real resources, the kush epidemic will continue to ravage Sierra Leone unchecked a national tragedy made worse by political neglect.