The Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) reminds the public and the liquor industry to submit their comments on the Draft National Liquor Policy Review Document (Government Gazette Notice No. 38808) by 13 August 2015. the dti granted an extension of time by 30 additional days to 13 August 2015 in order to allow the public the total of 60 days to make inputs.
The dti will also host a seminar on the proposed Liquor Policy Review on 29 July 2015 at Diep in die Berg, Pretoria East, starting from 9:00 to specifically to discuss the basis for the proposed change in the age limit from 18 to 21 years to reduce availability and accessibility of liquor to younger persons of the society. All relevant stakeholders are invited to partake in this seminar and to share their views with other speakers on this matter.
The proposals published by the dti for public comments include strengthening the approach on combating liquor abuse and illegal trading, including adjusting the age limit for the supply of liquor and enhancing the liability for traders to ensure that liquor traders operate in a socially responsible manner to prevent and reduce harm, increasing the enforcement capacity and the powers of the National Liquor Authority, accelerating the pace of transformation across the value chain in the liquor industry, and enhancing cooperative governance to achieve proper harmonisation and implementation of norms and standards across the country.
The scourge of alcohol abuse in South Africa has reached alarming rates and it has become clear that a policy that requires the industry to implement measures to combat alcohol abuse or to deal with the harm that results from this product is not effective in South Africa. Regulating the liquor industry requires the balance between trade and the socio economic harm that comes with that trade, and this balance has not been achieved over the years.
the dti urges the public to make submissions to this consultation process in a manner that provides alternative proposals where challenges or concerns are raised in regard to the proposals made by government. Constructive proposals will assist in enriching the finalisation of the policy review for implementation. Various meetings and workshops are currently held with affected stakeholders to clarify aspects that need to be clarified.
The information on the policy review and the seminar is available on the website www.thedti.gov.za. Written comments can be send to NRamphelea@thedti.gov.za
Enquiries:
Sidwell Medupe
Tel: 012 394 1650
Cell: 079 492 1774
E-mail: MSMedupe@thedti.gov.za
