Amidst the commencement of the COSATU-SAFTU national shutdown, Cape Town liquor traders threaten to stage their own shutdown over the enforcement of section 64 of the Provincial Liquor Act.
This follows a liquor law amendments meeting that took place in Nyanga on Tuesday. The aim of the meeting was to address challenges pertaining to changes in liquor laws. The Cape Town liquor traders vowed to shut businesses down in various local communities if an agreement is not made with liquor board authorities during an upcoming meeting next week, reports EWN.
Section 64 states that liquor operators who have previously violated the law will not be registered automatically for trading in 2021 and must go through a process to convince authorities why they should be allowed to trade.
In an earlier article, EWN reported that the Western Cape government previously stated that some liquor traders were violating laws that could be detrimental to the industry thus the industry needs to be regulated.
Also read: New liquor laws on the cards to tackle the Cape’s “deadly relationship with alcohol
However, liquor traders say authorities are being unreasonable and claim that the provincial government is biased towards larger popular retail liquor outlets, allowing them to operate in their communities yet local township traders are made to suffer, adding that selling liquor is their main source of income.
Liquor trading consultant Thulani Phike says “we are responding to the DA government which we view as wanting to exclude black and coloured people from partaking in liquor trade because they are doing hostile laws against our people, hence we want to shutdown.”
According to The South African, Community Safety and Policing Oversight MEC Reagen Allen believes otherwise. He contends that it would be helpful to society if liquor traders adhered to regulations as many crimes were committed when alcohol was consumed.
“There is a misconception around the issues in the public domain. The key for us is to respectively regulate the sale of liquor within the public interest,” says Allen.
More than 100 traders could not be in business in future. Some were found guilty of selling liquor to underage persons while others operated after trading hours and were reprimanded for it.
The planned shutdown could have an adverse impact on township economies.
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