DA calls for 30 day extension on National Liquor Policy submissions
10 June 2015
I will today write to the Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Rob Davies, requesting he extend the current deadline for written submissions on the National Liquor Policy by a further 30 days, as the current 30 day time period does not afford Members’ of Parliament and stakeholders sufficient time in order to make substantive and detailed written submissions.
This follows today’s brief and thinly documented presentation by Department officials to Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Trade and Industry. In a short presentation, barely any empirical evidence or legal opinions were presented by the Department in support of the policy proposals. This is highly problematic considering the far reaching and overarching effects this policy will have on society at large.
Members of Parliament were given a mere 3 minutes to ask pressing questions on this contentious policy. This is simply unacceptable - the multifaceted nature of this issue requires far more engagement and deliberation by the Committee and the Provinces.
The policy seeks to significantly alter the liquor industry in the following ways, amongst others:
Increase the legal age of alcohol consumption from 18 to 21 years of age;
The extension of strict liability to manufacturers and retailers;
A prohibition of sports advertising;
A revocation of liquor licences for failure to meet B-BBEE standards;
Standardisation of licencing by national government; and
The creation of a government managed fund responsible for combatting alcohol abuse.
Our call for Minister Davies to grant this extension will allow the Department to come back and sufficiently brief the Committee, allowing it to effectively perform its constitutionally mandated oversight responsibilities.
The National Liquor Policy will affect the lives of millions of South Africans and must be treated with the attention and consideration it so deserves.
Statement issued by Dean Macpherson MP, DA Shadow Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry, June 10 2015
