Colleagues
Ladies and gentlemen of the media
Let me thank you for joining us in this media briefing, which gives us a platform to inform the nation about some of our plans to address the problem of alcohol and substance abuse that has and continues to destroy many lives and families in our country.
As you know, many people have lost their lives, others imprisoned, often leading to disintegration of families, all as a result of the negative impact that alcohol and substance abuse have on our social fabric.
Our government recognises that alcohol and substance abuse constitute a serious threat to health and development. This undermines our ongoing efforts to build safe and healthy communities. This also undermines our efforts to build social cohesion. That is why our government has committed itself to the anti-substance abuse campaign by working together with all stakeholders.
Within the South African context, there is a causal nexus between alcohol and substance abuse, gender-based violence, criminal activities such as gangsterism, money laundering, human trafficking, foetal alcohol syndrome, serious road carnages, family disintegration and many other social ills.
Recently, our President said that the time has come for us to intensify the fight against alcohol and substance abuse. This call is informed by a number of research findings which indicate that in South Africa, alcohol ranks third in burden of disease and disability after unsafe sex and interpersonal violence.
Local research shows that alcohol is a factor in 29% of non-fatal injured drivers and more than 47% of fatally injured drivers. The recent World Health Organisation (WHO) Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health shows that South Africa is one of the leading countries in alcohol abuse disorders.
In the light of this reality, of course backed by statistical analysis of the situation on the ground, government has prioritised this as a matter of urgency, which requires speedy and concerted attention from all in our society.
We have to act now in raising awareness in the whole of society. We have to act now with the determination to put an end to the scourge of alcohol and substance abuse. The shocking reality of the situation has strengthened our resolve to tackle this problem head-on.
As part of our efforts, the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on Substance Abuse met yesterday, to consider detailed presentations from various government departments, which will guide discussions in the upcoming 2nd Biennial Substance Abuse Summit that will take place from the 15 to 17 March 2011 in Durban under the theme: An Integrated approach: Towards a drug- free Society”.
Among others, these discussions will be premised on the outcomes of the door-to-door campaign we undertook to various communities, who then shared with us their expectations from government on the matter of substance abuse. Some of the experiences that communities shared with us on the ground include the fact that alcohol and substance abuse is on the increase, particularly among young people.
Some of the concerns raised by communities include the mushrooming of unlicensed taverns/ shebeens and uncontrolled selling hours in residential areas, more particularly near schools. The most appalling one is that there are children who sniff glue at Grade R and primary school levels. We still have fresh memories of unnecessary loss of lives of young people at a tavern in the North West province and we will act with determination to ensure that such incidents do not happen again.
Being a consultative and people’s government that we are, we will take into account the concerns and suggestions our people have raised on how this pressing issue should be tackled.
They have said to us that government should genuinely enforce the law governing places selling liquor and stop the mushrooming of taverns as well as shebeens. They also told us that government must ensure proper investigations before a liquor selling license can be issued.
To guide the work of the IMC and in response to these concerns and other challenges pertaining to the problem of alcohol and substance abuse, we have already established a technical team to come up with detailed policy proposals and strategies in a quest to deal with the matter.
The team has identified amongst others, the following policy proposals, which will be taken to the summit for further engagement with various stakeholders:
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Alcohol limitations on time, location and content (in relation to advertising)
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Harmonisation of existing legislation on liquor
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Review of liquor license fees
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Monitoring compliance with license conditions
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License renewals not automatic but linked to level of compliance
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Exploring raising the age of consumption and trade of alcohol from 18 years to 21 years
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Strengthening the capacity of the inspectorate and
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Enhancing current measures to deal with public drinking and drunk driving.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Let me hasten to mention that the issues I alluded to are only policy proposals, and like any policy proposal, they will be subjected to rigorous debate and scrutiny at the summit.
The IMC noted with satisfaction preparations for the upcoming summit. The objective of the summit is to build national consensus on measures to tackle the scourge of alcohol and substance abuse in our country. The summit will come up with a set of resolutions to be adopted, and they will inform a five year programme of action in dealing with the issue of alcohol and substance abuse.
Ladies and gentlemen, we believe that we will emerge from the summit with one collective voice and act swiftly to deal with this problem. The IMC fully understands that action against alcohol and substance abuse must be taken collectively, and on all fronts if it is to succeed. The summit is a call to all South Africans to work individually and collectively for the prevention of alcohol and substance abuse in our country.
We want to take this opportunity to reiterate the President’s call that fighting alcohol and substance is a shared responsibility. No government can fight and win the war against alcohol and substance abuse in isolation. Yesterday, the IMC reiterated that coordinated and decisive action to curb this scourge will be essential, and we dare say critical, if we are to achieve the goal of building a drug-free society.
Ladies and Gentlemen of the media, we shall with your cooperation, continue our awareness creation campaign, more aggressively. We thank you very much for your attention.
I thank you.
