Matsenyane, Leloko Edwin2014-09-052014-09-052014-09-05http://hdl.handle.net/10539/15414The Local Drug Action Committee (LDAC) is the closest body to the community which is made up of individuals from different stakeholders at a local level to coordinate the activities aimed at the prevention of substance abuse and illicit drug trafficking within the communities. Since the implementation of the committees, the sustainability of these committees has been a challenge in the Free State Province. The study endeavoured to explore factors which influence the sustainability of these committees in the Free State Province. A qualitative research approach that was explorative and descriptive in nature was employed. A case study design was used. Purposive sampling was applied to select the participants from two LDACs in Mangaung Municipality. A semi-structured interview schedule was used to collect the data during individual in-depth interviews with five participants. Thematic content analysis was used to analyse the data. The main findings indicated that there was a lack of knowledge among the committee members about their roles, responsibilities and mandates. Their inability to coordinate the stakeholder activities as well as the limited knowledge about the relationship between the Free State Mini Drug Master Plan (FSMDMP) and the LDACs also appeared to be challenging. The main conclusions drawn from the study are that despite the excellent structure of the LDACs to coordinate the implementation of the FSMDMP, the members of the LDACs are neither knowledgeable about nor capacitated to fulfil their roles and responsibilities to meet the intended requirements and implement the activities of the FSMDMP, factors which hamper sustainability. The lack of financial support from Government to fund the activities of the LDACs in the Province is another major impediment in terms of sustainability.enSubstance abuseLocal Drug Action Committees (LDACs)StakeholdersSustainabilityThesis