Proposals in the Liquor Policy Review
13 August 2015
THE proposals in the Liquor Policy Review amount to a bid by the Department of Trade and Industry and its National Liquor Authority to obtain greatly increased powers to intervene in almost every aspect of the liquor industry, says the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
“It is very difficult to avoid the impression that the DTI wants to control the supply of liquor and the industry as a whole rather than deal with the problems of abuse,” said Ms Janine Myburgh, President of the Chamber.
She said the Chamber agreed that liquor abuse was a problem. “We pay for it in absenteeism, accidents, demotivated staff and other social and labour problems and we would like to see these problems dealt with but instead we see a variety of proposals that will simply give more power to the DTI and even “trading entity status”.
The DTI and the NLA want additional resources to enforce new regulations as well as educate and build awareness of liquor problems. “Will this lead to a new empire with the DTI and liquor police?” Ms Myburgh asked.
In the Chamber’s letter of objection it described some of the proposals as absurd. One example was the proposal that “liquor premises should be located at least 500 metres away from schools, places of worship, recreation facilities, rehabilitation or treatment centres, residential areas and public institutions.” Furthermore it is proposed that “if such a licence is already issues it should be terminated within two years.”
Ms Myburgh pointed out that in Cape Town “we have a licenced hotel opposite the St George’s Cathedral and the licenced Cape Town Club and the High Court are virtually next to each other. In Long Street we have both liquor establishments and a Mosque and both have been there in close proximity for decades. On Greenmarket square we have a hotel and a church.
“In a suburb like Sea Point liquor outlets are imbedded in the densely populated residential area. Implementing the 500-metre rule will be all but impossible,” she said.
She said the proposal cuts across local town planning regulations. The granting of liquor licences was the prerogative of local government and “we believe it should remain so as municipalities are best placed to understand local conditions and circumstances. They don’t need to have 500-metre rules imposed on them.”
The area where attention is desperately required is the drinking and driving problem, but we believe the answers lie in strict enforcement rather than regulating the supply of liquor.
In many overseas countries the vigorous prosecution of drivers who have been drinking has been extremely successful in lowering road fatality rates and creating a culture of the “designated driver”.
We believe the best defence against the misuse of liquor is to ensure that the industry remains in the open and as visible as possible. This will make it easier to monitor and enforce the necessary regulations.
Statement issued by Janine Myburgh, President of the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry, August 13 2015
