National Drug, Substance Abuse Control and Enforcement Agency Bill, H.B. 12, 2025

This is a Bill — H.B. 12 of 2025 — not law. It would establish the National Drug and Substance Abuse Control and Enforcement Agency as a body corporate, and takes effect only if passed and brought into operation.

The Agency would be split in two. A Social Services Intervention Division would work on demand reduction: support services, research, public education, and demand-side reduction programmes aimed at preventing abuse, raising awareness and preserving the family structures of affected individuals. An Enforcement Division would work on supply reduction: investigating and prosecuting drug-related offences and collaborating with law enforcement agencies.

The provision with the longest reach is a consequential one. Section 37A of the Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime Act, which sets out who may enforce Unexplained Wealth Orders, would be amended to add the Agency's Enforcement Division alongside the National Prosecuting Authority and ZIMRA. An Unexplained Wealth Order requires a person to account for how they came by property, and extending that power to a new drug enforcement body is a significant addition to Zimbabwe's asset recovery machinery. The Bill would also expand the definition of "dangerous drug" in the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act to cover the harmful drugs it addresses, and set out related presumptions.

A second notable power sits in the social side. The Director General, in consultation with the Deputy Director General (Social), could appoint monitors from the Division's professional staff, each carrying a certificate of appointment. Monitors would carry out on-site compliance checks on how government departments and other stakeholders implement demand-side reduction programmes, and could enter premises, question employees, inspect and copy documents, and take possession of records relevant to monitoring — with material retained only as long as necessary for legal or investigative purposes. A public register of certificates would record programmes, obligated persons, dates, conditions, and any changes or cancellations.

Governance would run through a Director General appointed by the President, responsible for national drug enforcement and control strategies, budgets, prevention programmes, multinational coordination and interagency collaboration. Deputy Directors General for the Social and Enforcement divisions would also be appointed by the President. An Advisory Board comprising the Director General and representatives from various ministries would have a quorum of eight, four-year terms renewable once, and gender equality in its composition. Joint meetings of the two divisions, chaired by the Director General, would produce a strategic plan reviewed annually and approved by the Minister, and outside experts could be invited on a non-voting basis.

Staffing would draw on the public service: anti-drug officers seconded into the Social Division's professional staff, further secondments from other statutory bodies as intervention officers, administrative staff employed by the Public Service Commission in consultation with the Director General, and professional members on fixed-term contracts. Seconded staff would receive serving allowances on top of their remuneration. Members of the Agency would be immune from liability for acts done in good faith and without gross negligence.

The Agency would decentralise into provincial and district offices, prepare annual financial statements for the Minister, appoint an internal auditor, and be audited by the Auditor-General — with a fine for anyone who refuses to supply information for an audit or supplies false information. The Social Division would also develop guidelines for community wellness services targeting vulnerable groups, with national standards, provincial strategies, funding and community involvement.

This summary follows the Bill's explanatory memorandum; the operative text was not read in full, so specific penalties and thresholds should be checked against the Bill itself.