Jacob Zuma was met with smiles and cheers when he visited the drug stricken Eldorado Park community‚ south west of Johannesburg on Thursday.

His visit comes after three years‚ when he made a promise to Delarine James‚ a mother whose son has been struggling with drug abuse for over six year.

 James said drug abuse was such an issue in her community she wanted to create an awareness around the scourge.

 “I wrote to [President Zuma ]‚ to let him know how badly the drugs were consuming this community‚” said James.

James said she had decided to take a stand and sacrifice all she had to try to get her son clean by running a drug free centre.

 “I lost my house‚ my car and am now living at home with my mother. My son has now been clean for three months‚” James said.

She added that as the community they had kept government accountable‚ since Zuma’s first visit in 2013.

 “We never gave up. We kept on asking when we would be heard.” James said.

 James said they struggled to keep the youth drug free and said the problem lay with the justice system.

 “From January to March this year about 75 drug dealers were arrested under a special operation. But the problem is still the justice system. Drug dealers get arrested and are soon back in the streets. It’s very hard for these guys to stay clean when there are still drugs in the community‚” James said.

Zuma was conducting an African National Congress door-to-door campaign ahead of the coming local elections.