Liquor Licence Holders - Liquor Licence Holders were surprised by an compliance operation by Liquor Board Inspectors, the The South African Police Service and other liquor law enforcement agencies in the Wallacedene and Bloekombos area of Cape Town to investigate whether liquor traders were complying to the conditions of their liquor licences. Several fines were issued for selling liquor from incorrectly zoned parts of premises and for not having working fire extinguishers. The liquor licence holders were also investigated for serving alcohol to minors, selling alcohol for off-consumption with an on-consumption licence, lapsed licences(when not renewed annually) and the violation of trading hours. 1 700 inspections have been carried out in the Western Cape since April 2011. Fines in excess of R120 000 have been issued. Minister Winde expressed his concern about some liquor outlets which had produced home-made brews (fruit ale). According to him, it is sold cheaper than water. He promised that his department will be investigating all ways possible to stop the production and sale of it. "We are enforcing a zero-tolerance approach, and a further 400 raids are planned for the December and January festive period. In addition, law enforcement will keep a close watch on premises that have already been inspected to ensure that non-compliant behaviour has ceased," said Minister Winde. He acknowledged that liquor is an important income and employment generator for our province, but this must be weighed against its harms. If licensed outlets abide by the rules, we'll see a significant drop in the negative effects of alcohol. We encourage them to get their houses in order now. This December and January, we are ramping up inspections in partnership with SAPS, municipal law enforcement and local CPFs around the province to ensure responsible trading and consumption of alcohol. Through these actions, we are making our communities better together." Chairperson of the Western Cape Liquor Board, Mr Raybin Windvogel, explained that a licence is granted based on an agreement between the Liquor Board, the local community and the liquor trader : "We impose conditions for a reason and when sellers don't obey them, the entire community is affected by increased crime, vehicle crashes, domestic violence and general disorder. We need to guard against these highly damaging effects of alcohol by creating a culture of compliance." If liquor outlets have any queries relating to licensing, they can call LiquorWise on 0861059473.

A cheerful chorus of “Heita” and “Hola!” greeted us as we walked down the stairs to AmaZink Theatre. Situated in the outskirts of Stellenbosch in a township named Kayamandi (meaning “nice place to live” in Xhosa), this is not your typical theatre. Within the dusty winding streets of Kayamandi one wouldn’t expect to find a restaurant, let alone a theatre. From the outside AmaZink looks just like any other township shebeen, but the suited men and glamorously dressed ladies tell you otherwise. Stevie Wonder’s Motown sounds played softly in the background as we took in the already buzzing crowd. We were led to a 10-seater table with eager waiting faces; clearly AmaZink doesn’t do “common”. “We love South African traditional music, Miriam Makeba’s Pata Pata is one of our favourite songs,” said Christien van Maarseveen, seated opposite us. A tourist from Holland, she and her husband heard about AmaZink Live from a local tour guide. “We don’t know what to expect, but we are excited about what’s ahead.” And with that statement, the ice was broken and introductions were made. The theatre is painted black and red and dotted with little stages between rows of brightly decorated long tables. Every wooden chair is occupied. “This place is run by young people trying to make something of their lives,” says Van Maarseveen’s husband, Paans, as the 10-piece cast enthusiastically run around taking drinks orders. The show had yet to start but already the atmosphere was electrifying. “We are using their (restaurant) taxi service, so we can relax, drink and have fun. It’s pretty good organising for a place in the township,” Paans said. It was created and prepared by chef Bertus Basson, for starters we had delicious pickled fish, lentil samoosas, chickpea and mint salad, Indian carrot slaw and vetkoek, a tasty blend of traditional South African cuisine. The show began with the cast led by front-liners Richard Bongani and Ramaine Lloyd. Supported by an eight-piece chorus of waiters who both serve and sing, they had us mesmerised with their Xhosa traditional outfits. The crew took turns belting out tunes produced by Barnyard Productions to honour SA music legends such as Mango Groove, Johnny Clegg, Brenda Fassie and many more. “Lay back, sit back and enjoy the show,” said Bongani, who had us hypnotised as he told the story behind AmaZink between songs. Back in 1987 the theatre used to be a township sheeben that served “very strong drinks” which fought hard to keep its doors open during the apartheid era. The township founded in the early 1950s came about when nine of Stellenbosch’s biggest employers, several vineyards and a fruit packing company joined to erect 38 ready-made homes to exclusively host black migrant male workers employed on farms in area. Bongani describes himself as a “talent yet to be discovered” working at the sheeben back in the days as a car guard/waiter/ barman/cook. “There was a lot going on here, a lot of people coming and leaving. It was one big jol.” Crooner Musa and his back-up singers sang a variety of R&B oldies, with leather bustier-clad Patricia “Miss Tash” Bam seductively showing off her magnificent breasts. As a main course we had a mouth-watering Southern fried chicken, samp and beans, chakalaka and boerewors. Jan Ellis pudding was served for dessert. “They sing very well and you can tell they are having fun while doing it,” said Paans. My colleague felt the show exceeded his expectations: “The music and the food definitely have that local vibe. At first I was a bit doubtful about sitting at a table with strangers, but everyone is just chilling together and having fun.” AmaZink Live runs until March.

SAB, the South African subsidiary of SABMiller recorded good growth in emerging markets, but complains of the government dragging its heels to lift the Gauteng moratorium on new liquor licences. The would-be tavern owners will be hurt by the current moratorium on granting new liquor licences in Gauteng. Norman Adami, managing director and chairman of South African Breweries (SAB), said that the lack of capacity was frustrating. "We want to see a healthy industry that is normalised, but in order to have a healthy, normalised industry, you need to have an appropriate number of licences to serve the broader society," said Mr Adami. He compared South Africa to Poland and Colombia, which have similar figures for gross domestic product per capita and population size. Colombia has 480000 licensed liquor outlets and Poland more than 300000, but South Africa has only 60000, which suggests there could be as many as 180000 unlicensed outlets alongside the country’s legitimate resellers. "It’s very much a vestige of the past — an overhang from the Nationalist government," Mr Adami said. He added it was a form of "reverse discrimination", and that although SAB did not expect to sell any more or any less beer in the short to medium term as a result, the industry needed certainty to attract long-term investment. "The previous government tried to police the shebeens out of existence for 40 years without success. Why would this government be any different from the last?" he said. The global brewer expects emerging markets to account for most of its growth over the next few years. In the US and Europe, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation moved down 6% in the period. "Within each business they are optimising their performance — we don’t foresee that in the next six months conditions are going to change materially, but we also believe emerging markets are going to perform and will be able to offset any temporary weakness," he said. In South Africa, the company increased revenues and profits, despite steady beer volumes and a fall of 3% in soft-drink sales. "We were very pleased with our performance given relatively soft economic conditions in South Africa with the consumer under pressure," Mr Adami said. "Castle Light performed particularly well selling at a premium price," he said. Analysts had expressed concern about whether margins in South Africa would hold, but Mr Adami said the company had been able to grow margins for the past two years. "The South African business reflects a consolidated margin of the beer, soft drinks and Appletizer business and our share of Distell . That would give a lower margin than the beer business," he said. (Business Day Article, edited by LiquorWise)

FOUR illegal shebeens in East London were closed down and liquor valued at R41000 confiscated in a three-day blitz by police working with officials from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Eastern Cape Liquor Board (ECLB). South African Police Services and Buffalo City Metro enforcement officials closed down and arrested the owners of illegal shebeens in West Bank, Reeston and Nompumelelo. “There are a number of liquor outlets that are targeted for these operations and we are planning on catching them off guard,” liquor board spokeswoman Nandi Sondati said. She said there were many illegal shebeens but they were difficult to take action against because the owners were sometimes tipped off before the operations. DTI director of legal support and prosecutions in the national liquor authority Sandile Nkosi said the blitz was the start of operations ahead of the festive season. He said liquor outlets would be visited to look at licence holders and detect unlicensed people trading in liquor.“They should comply with the licence conditions and they shouldn’t sell and supply liquor to minors. We are also looking at their structures to see if they are suitable for trading in liquor. He said this was a national programme that ran across the country. “This is a start for the Eastern Cape and we will go through all the districts.” Senior inspector at ECLB Ndaba Qinisile said there were a number of illegal taverns in the province that created problems. (Article by Dispatch Online – Edited by Liquorwise)

The Liquor Guide reported the following in its February 2011 newsletter (The heading above is not from the Liquor Guide article but chosen by Liquorwise) : Wherever liquor is available there will also be those who abuse it. Similarly, if there are those who abuse it, there are authorities trying to control the problem and devise a workable solution. The latest proposed measures by the local government do not necessarily provide the best course of action. The 2008 Western Cape Liquor Law Amendment Bill, which comes into force in September, seeks to tighten the regulations making it more difficult to acquire a licence to serve liquor. When commenting on the issue, SAB claimed that this could lead potential buyers to illegal liquor operations and also put a strain on the regulation of the industry. Brandhouse echoed their sentiments, "An inappropriate approach to alcohol may result in growth in black market trade in smuggled and counterfeit beverage alcohol." In Gauteng the obstacles faced by liquor retailers is no different, the local government is looking to ban liquor sales on Sundays. This they say would be in an effort to combat underage drinking. Although the 'solution' is different the results may be similar, with liquor consumers simply bypassing the law by heading to illegal liquor outfits on a Sunday or stocking up before the time. These proposed laws were drawn up with the best of intentions in mind, but also from a subjective perspective. Banning sales on a Sunday will only spawn new problems, as will tighter restrictions. The government, liquor manufacturers and liquor outlets need to come to an agreeable, workable solution. It will not be without compromise, but may be more productive than the constant back-and-forth between the two.  

Calphena Jacobs has been selling liquor for off-premises consumption from her compact, immaculate home in Mitchell's Plain since 1983, but in that time she has had to fork out thousands of rands to the police for selling liquor without a licence. But apart from not having a licence, in those 27 years she has never had trouble with the police or her neighbours. "There's been no noise, no fighting, no drunks, no crime, no disruption to the neighbourhood, nobody has had a problem with us," Jacobs said. And yet for the past three years Jacobs' daughter has been struggling to get a licence for what has become a family business. She is not sure why the provincial government will not give her a liquor licence. "Maybe they're afraid of crime... but I've had no trouble since I started in business." The provincial government is prepared to rezone Jacobs' premises to enable her to run a hairdresser or shop but not for selling liquor. The provincial government's near-refusal to issue licences to currently illegal operators in the Western Cape has resulted in the bizarre situation where the V&A Waterfront has more licensed premises than all of the townships in the Western Cape. The fact that the townships are mainly zoned for residential use is one of the reasons used to justify what looks like a continuation of the apartheid regime attitude, when blacks were prohibited from selling liquor. Industry sources say that the situation is even more bizarre given the national government's desire to encourage small business development. Nonzaliseko Mpinda is one of the lucky ones. After years of operating an unlicensed shebeen, she recently got a licence for her business in Gugulethu. Despite the considerable expense of meeting the licensing requirements - including having two toilets, no matter how small the premises - Mpinda is thrilled to be running a legal business. "Things are much easier now," she said. David Sawula has been licensed for five of the 25 years that he has been running Popza's Place in Gugulethu. And despite now having to pay tax, Sawula says there are enormous benefits to being licensed. "The suppliers are much more supportive, the Department of Trade and Industry helps with business training schemes, it's much easier to deal with the banks...," he said. South African Breweries (SAB), which is encouraging the licensing process with its Zenzele black empowerment scheme, reckons almost 500 of the unlicensed outlets in the province could meet the strict licensing requirements

SALTA(SA Liquor Traders Association) will host an urgent Imbizo in the Johannesburg City Hall on 19 May to discuss various issues facing its members. Subsequent to the meeting, they plan to meet with the Gauteng Legislature to engage on issues to : 1. Stop the current wave of police raids on their members; 2. Challenge the zoning and consent use requirements by municipalities and liquor boards; 3. Suspend certain section of the liquor act which make it difficult to trade; 4. Compel the Soccer World Cup organisers to allow members unconditional participation.

The Western Cape Shebeen Association (WCSA) has successfully introduced its groundbreaking initiative Restrictive Licensing System (RLS) in the Khayelitsha township in Cape Town. The result has been as reduction of more than 50% in shebeen – related crime. The Souh African Liquor Traders Association(SALTA), through it’s president and CEO, Mr Saint Madlala, has mandated the WCSA to represent its members in all negotiations with role players.

Mr Mauritz Rossouw, the CEO of the WCSA, will meet with executives of major role players in the liquor industry, as well as Premier Helen Zille, before the end of April, to discuss the implementation of the RLS throughout the Western Cape Province. Because of its successful implementation, plans include the implementation of the RLS in other provinces in due course.

It is expected that the KZN Provincial Government will include a 6 month amnesty in its draft Liquor Act, which should be published for comment soon. Role players have welcomed the amnesty, but complained that it is much to short to allow shebeen owners to submit proper applications for liquor licences. It has been proposed that the Restrictive Licensing System(RLS), which has been successfully implemented by the Western Cape Liquor Traders Association (composed of the Western Cape Shebeen Association and the South African Liquor Traders Association). In the Khayelitsha Township, where the pilot project was implemented, shebeen related crime was reduced by more than 50%. Role players are meeting within the next two weeks to decide on a strategy to implement the RLS on a national basis.

Tavern owners in Kimberley have vowed to snub the Northern Cape's new provincial Liquor Act, which prevents them from selling liquor after midnight. The Act, which was introduced in the Western Cape last year, came into effect in the Northern Cape last night. Although the Act is intended to curb escalating rates of rape and murder, the Provincial Liquor Traders Association (NCLTA) says it will force some of them to close shop. NCLTA spokesperson Afrika Cindi says they are opposed to this new law because it will cripple their income. Cindi says business start to peak from 11pm and if asked to close at 12pm it will be a serious blow to their businesses. The Northern Cape liquor board says there is little they can do about tavern owners' dissatisfaction regarding the Act. The Act states that no shebeen, tavern, liquor store or outlet will operate beyond midnight. Economic Affairs spokesperson Lesego Letebele says the Act was approved by the former Premier Dipuo Peters in 2008 and license holders were given a chance to object to it and they did not. He says tavern owners can appeal but not immediately. Galeshewe police spokesperson Tony Modise says they support the idea of tavern closing at midnight especially after brutal killings of six women who were leaving local taverns after midnight. Cindi says crime can be committed at anytime and it not necessarily alcohol related (Article from www.sabcnews.co.za).

Western Cape Premier Zille met with Mauritz Rossouw, president of the Western Cape Shebeen Association(WCSA) and SALTA on Monday evening. The Premier was accompanied by Minister Alan Winde, senior staff of her administration and advisors. The meeting was requested by the WCSA to present a DVD which highlighted the problems shebeens experience because they are not being regulated. Furthermore, to discuss the disastrous financial and social effect on the shebeen industry, which is predicted if the new Western Cape Liquor Act is implemented without interim measures to accommodate the shebeen industry. Zille lamented that 80% of the province’s health budget is spent on alcohol related incidents and blamed the shebeen industry as the greatest cause. Rossouw disputed this and pointed out that only 305 out of a total of more than 7000 licences approved within the past 12 months, were for shebeens. Rossouw argued that the province did not have land available to be used as business zones, where shebeens could be moved to. Furthermore, that the solution was to regulate the industry, as it was foolhardy to think that the industry would “disappear” by the introduction of a Liquor Act which ignored the reality. The WCSA proposed a restrictive licensing system, based on a points system. Licence holders would be penalised for transgressing licence conditions and may have their licences revoked or suspended should they accumulate a certain number of points. Zille undertook to review the provincial government’s stance on the matter and to provide the shebeen associations with a written reply within the next two weeks.

What has happened to the Liquor Act after 7 months? In her State of the Province speech, Premier Helen Zille stated, in no uncertain terms, that the Provincial Government would resolve the ‘complications' around the Liquor Act and then implement it. In the pre-election period the DA recklessly led the charge to adopt the harshest possible clauses in the draft Bill including the removal of clauses, which allowed a grace period for unlicensed outlets which had not broken the law in other respects, to apply for licenses. The DA proposed that no licenses exist in any residential area and roundly criticized the ANC led government for its failure to implement the Act. But what is good for the goose must be good for the gander - seven months later citizens of the Province would be entitled to ask - what has happened to the Liquor Act? The national government has only objected to one sub-clause involving the sale of liquor on school premises. This can easily be changed through an amendment. Why has the DA changed its tune? What has become of Premier Zille's promise? Has the reckless posturing come up against the hard realities of managing a complex and difficult process? The hype generated around the closure of two or three licensed properties is no substitute for implementing the much delayed Act. Whatever the case the DA must come clean on the matter because the problem has not gone away. Alcohol abuse remains the single biggest driver of crime, road accidents, ill- health and under-performance in education and the economy. The DA has hitherto and in opposition advanced the hardest possible line and inflexibility. It now has a special responsibility to inform the public and the provincial legislature, in particular, what its plans are?! For its part the ANC will support any amendments which strengthen the Act. It will do so without indulging in the reckless posturing which characterized the pre-election interventions of the DA. But the Legislature must deal with the facts - what is being proposed by an Executive which promised immediate action to amend the Act and to implement it? Statement issued by ANC Western Cape Leader of the Opposition, Lynne Brown, December 2 2009

The Western Cape Liquor Amendment Bill was published for comment on Friday, 16 October 2009. Many persons involved in the liquor industry had hoped for an amnesty period to be included in the Bill, especially after the recent Provincial Liquor Conference. This would have made provision for unlicensed shebeens being able to trade without fear of prosecution, pending the outcome of either an application for a temporary permit or tavern licence. Such shebeen owners, without a liquor licence, would have to trade within the terms of the Liquor Act while awaiting the outcome of such application. WILL THE PROPOSED LIQUOR BILL PUT AN END TO ILLEGAL SHEBEENS? Download the Draft Bill Now

The contributions of all speakers at the Liquor Conference were of a high quality. The text of various contributions will be made available, when possible. For liquor licensing purposes, the contributions of Dr Andrew Charman and Dr Victor Maphai, presented some of the most interesting facts and opinion. The conference was to learn that Dr Maphai grew up in an informal settlement where his mother ran a small shebeen in order for her children to be fed and to go to school. The following is our summary of their speeches, for your comment and/or suggestions. Any contributor may request that we forward his/her comment to the relevant party who is to receive comments on the proposed new WC Liquor Act, as proposed in the Green Paper to be published shortly. DR ANDREW CHARMAN (Sustainable Livelihood Consultants cc) A rapid assessment of the potential socio-economic impact of the Western Cape Liquor Act : Dr Charman conducted a study during February 2009, focusing on the economic issues relating to shebeens(licensed and unlicensed). Shebeens were divided into three levels according to their economic characteristics, as follows : Level 1 – Wants to be licensed, is formalized, large volumes, has branding, links for distribution and large contributor to economy; Level 2 – Mostly unlicensed, less formalized and average contributor to economy; Level 3 – Unlicensed, informal and low to average contributor to economy. Amongst the most interesting of the finding of his report, were the following : 1. WHO ARE THE OWNERS OF SHEBEENS? Pensioners 4% Could not find work 46& Lost employment 33% Don’t know 8% Other 9% 2. TOTAL NUMBER OF JOBS GENERATED(DIRECT & INDIRECT) LEVEL 1 & 2 OUTLETS 69 700 LEVEL 3 OUTLETS 60 960 TOTAL 130 660 3. +- 8500 OUTLETS HAS THE STATUS TO BE LICENSED. 4. RESULT OF THE NEW LIQUOR ACT IN ITS PRESENT FORM? - Will not regulate the liquor trade; - The number of Level 3 outlets will increase; - Will not reduce the social impact of these outlets, because of the increase in the number of Level 3 outlets; - Will not increase the opportunities for Black Economic Empowerment 5. COMMENT The question is a challenge of development, not only of regulation. It must take place within a regulated framework, but focusing on development. Outlets have, for instance, asked for street lights and information. 2. DR VICTOR MAPHAI (Director – Corporate Affairs – SAB) The contribution of the liquor industry to the Western Cape economy Dr Maphai produced some interesting statistics, such as the following : 2006 Total value of alcoholic products sold R9,6bn SAB contribution – direct & indirect taxes R23,6bn Unlicensed shebeens in SA +- 265 000 SAB have found that the industry is much more nuanced and has many more players in its value chain than expected. Comments on the legalisation of unlicensed shebeens : 1. The majority of jobs created by the industry in the Western Cape remain in the Western Cape; 2. Legalise unlicensed shebeens, by phasing in the relevant legislation; 3. Alcohol can cause crime, but so can losing 100 000 jobs. Therefore, the cure may be worse than the sickness; 4. Bulldozers and police could not stop unlicensed shebeens in the apartheid era and it will not do so now. 5. 50% of South Africans do not consume alcohol. A small majority abuse alcohol; 6. Enforcement cannot be legalized. Make sure legislation is enforced, instead of making new laws to correct laws which are inherently good;

The SAP has informed the public, via a press release, that Sections 76, 80 and 87 of Western Cape Liquor Act will be effective as from 1 JANUARY 2009. These sections are : Section 76 - Offence to buy liquor from unlicensed seller(i.e. Sjebeen). Section 80 - drinking in vehicle prohibited. Section 87 - Sale of substantial quantities of liquor to individuals prohibited. FINES OF UP TO R1 MILLION! LIQUOR STORE OWNERS WITHOUT DISTRIBUTION LICENCES AND UNLICENSED SHEBEENS SHOULD BE VERY ALERT! CONTACT US ON 0861059473 FOR UP TO DATE ADVICE ON THE NEW LIQOUR ACT AND HOW IT WILL AFFECT YOUR BUSINESS.