In the State of the Province Address earlier this week, Western Cape Premier Alan Winde announced the status of the proposed changes to the Western Cape Liquor Act, reports BusinessTech.
The focus of the Liquor Act amendments is to address alcohol abuse in the province. Continue reading →
The Western Cape government is seeking input into its Draft Western Cape Liquor Amendment Bill, with a series of public hearings about eleven proposed amendments to the Bill planned.
Provincial Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Tourism, Alan Winde, has invited Capetonians and Western Cape residents, liquor consultants, and licence holders to have their say about the proposed changes, according to a media release received from the Minister’s office. The deadline for comments on the Draft Bill is 10 May.
Minister Winde said: ‘With legislation, despite extensive public participation, some unintended consequences only come to light after full implementation. We are eager to address these issues with urgency to ensure the new Liquor Act roots out non-compliant legal liquor traders who are harming our communities. This draft bill came after consultation with several stakeholders and I’d like to encourage communities and businesses to contribute their insights to this amendment process’.
‘The Liquor Authority has received complaints from residents regarding the ‘150 litre clause’. This clause was Continue reading →
Yesterday the controversial Western Cape Liquor Amendment Bill was to have been fully gazetted, and be enforceable, but this has been held back, due to threatened legal action.
The Liquor Trading Days and Hours By-Law has attracted the wrath of the members of the newly-formed Club, Bar and Restaurant Association of the Western Cape, who contributed money to a legal fund to fight the By-Law by means of an interdict, reports the Cape Times. The association is looking to get 100 members on board, to have a large enough legal resource of about R1 million to “put these guys to bed”, said Shaan Nordien of the Chrome Club, and has invited restaurants and hotels to join them in their fight. The first step will be to apply for an interdict from the court, whereafter the association will challenge the constitutionality of the By-Law, says the association’s legal advisor Zeeshan Nordien. An interesting development, demonstrating the seriousness of the association members, is the appointment of specialist liquor lawyer Danie Cronje of Cluver Markotter, with Jan Heunis as the advocate, reports the Cape Times. They have sent a letter with their grievances to the City of Cape Town, which it has decided to study first before going ahead with gazetting the By-Law. A protest march has not been excluded.
The Association is claiming that up to 150000 jobs could be lost due to the potential loss of business caused by the new Liquor Trading By-law, reports The Times.
A potential new change to the By-Law could be a “cooling off period” for drinkers, which would allow establishments such as pubs, bars and restaurants selling alcohol to allow their patrons to stay on at the establishment, serving them coffee, but disallowing the sale of alcohol, after 2h00, so that the drinkers are in a fitter state to drive home, reports the Cape Argus. JP Smith, the City of Cape Town Councillor and Mayco member for Safety and Security, said: “This would mean that patrons’ liquor consumption stops some time before they leave the establishment – and that would be good”. Smith has warned the rebelling club and bar owners that the new By-Law will be implemented across the board, and accused them of ‘profiteering off liquor abuse”, the newspaper reports. “We have always known that people who profiteer off the sale of liquor will not want to give that up. But we will sit it out, because of how important this is. Those that protest about the new trading hours are not the ones paying the hospitals, or the ambulances, or the emergency services. They’re not the ones having to pick up the pieces that result from alcohol abuse. They’re looking at their profits”, he added.
Smith said that the City would target the establishments receiving the most complaints in terms of noise level and fighting. The By-Law will rely on customer complaints for its implementation to be effective.
POSTSCRIPT 1/7: The Cape Times has reported that the Liquor by-law has been reviewed by a ‘constitutional expert, following the outcry from the hospitality industry prior to its introduction earlier this year. The review will lead to as yet undisclosed changes to the bylaw.
Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter: @WhaleCottage