Government is all talk and no action on liquor laws

25 August 2020

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has noted the tough talk on liquor by Transport Minister, Fikile Mbalula over the last few days where he has repeated that "laws need to be reviewed."

The truth is that the ANC government and cabinet have done absolutely nothing on liquor legislation since the draft Liquor Amendment Bill was introduced nearly 4 years ago. It has been left to gather dust on successive Trade and Industry Ministers desks without any movement.

After the draft bill was released, the DA released its own paper on liquor legislation after extensive consultations with local and provincial government in an effort to save lives and livelihoods. In this paper, we came up with innovative ideas like a provincial tax on liquor to assist with cost recovery as well as mandatory identification for anyone buying liquor.

There is no doubt that liquor is destructive in many communities, however it also provides billions of rands into the national economy which the government can not do without. Therefore, it is crucial that a balance is sought between these two forces.

If the Minister and government cared about dealing with issues like access to liquor and the damage it does, then they would urgently revive the draft bill and allow the Portfolio Committee on Trade, Industry and Competition to get to work on it.

But as we have come to learn, what the government is outraged about hardly ever leads to urgent legislative action.

Issued by Dean Macpherson,DA Shadow Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, 25 August 2020