Bokone Bophirima firms up liqour awareness campaign
Economy and Enterprise Development department has over the last years rolled out massive liquor awareness campaigns and inspections in partnership with South African Police Services. The intention was to instil awareness among traders on responsible trading and enforce compliance to conditions of licence.
More than half of ± 6 500 registered licences outlets ranging from taverns, restaurants, bottle stores, accommodation and brewers licences were inspected, compliance notices were issued and fines to the value of more than R100 000.00 were issued to non-compliant licence holders in all the districts in the province.
According to the Chief Director in the Business Regulations Directorate, Onnicah Sithole, the department is still facing a challenge in terms of compliance with regard to responsible sale and consumption of alcohol, adherence to trading hours and age restrictions.
“We are not undermining the economic opportunities available to those engaged in the industry, but the message we want to put across is for licence holders to act more responsibly and familiarise themselves with the legislative requirements and trading conditions of the licences, so that they can act responsibly and make informed decisions when selling alcohol to patrons,” said Sithole.
She added that the department has noted all the concerns raised by community members and traders during the awareness campaigns. Part of the issues raised is the review of trading hours to allow traders to make more profit on the sales. Furthermore, traders are more concerned about the safety of their customers when they leave the outlets at 2’o clock in the early hours of the morning, considering the high rate of crime.
Department is pleading with traders to reduce the level of noise and further urges them to regularly inform the neighbours about the upcoming events in order to be prepared for the noise.
Sithole further adds that noise level is regulated by the Municipal by laws; it falls outside the ambit of the existing legislation within the department. “We cannot challenge the noise level in the outlets, but we have the responsibility, as the custodian of the Liquor Act, to promote the responsible liquor industry in a manner that inculcates the ethos of social responsibility among other things and to ensure that there is zero tolerance on non-compliance within the liquor industry”.
Subsequent to the liqour compliance findings, the department sees it fitting to embark on another massive awareness campaign to caution traders and communities about the socio economic ills associated with excessive consumption of alcohol and which is caused by, amongst others, unlimited access and availability of liqour as a result of rampant non-compliance with trading conditions.
The event is set take place this week at Mphebatho Museum, Moruleng, in Moses Kotane Local Municipality under the theme “Working together to eradicate alcohol abuse”.
The campaign seeks to highlight that alcohol abuse is apparently heading for epidemic proportions with Bokone Bophirima recently dominating in patient centres and reported to have the highest alcohol consumption rate by the youth.
“With this awareness campaign, we want to bring traders closer to allow them a chance for more inclusive participation so that we can confront issues that concern community such as high behavioural risk of activities related to liquor abuse such as violence and risky sexual activities and encourage them to participate on social responsibility programmes which are identified by the Department”.
Stakeholders that are expected to attend the event include traditional authorities, Bojanala District and local Municipalities, South African Breweries (SAB), Heineken South Africa, North West Liquor Board Members, liquor traders and officials from National Liquor Authority at the dti and The South African Police Services.
The discussions will include liquor traders’ rights to use the land in their respective Municipalities when applying for liquor licenses, compliance and regulation within the liquor industry, and substance abuse in the Province.
For more information please contact:
Dumisa Seshabela
Cell: 079 522 7375
E-mail: dseshabela@nwpg.gov.za
