SOWETAN | Strike a balance on liquor laws

This week the Limpopo High Court in Polokwane is expected to hear an urgent application brought by liquor traders against new regulations prohibiting the sale of alcohol after midnight.

The new regulations came into effect this month and Sekhukhune Liquor Traders Association is justifiably worried that they will harm their business and negatively impact livelihoods.

But more importantly, the liquor traders are arguing that the process followed by the provincial government in implementing the regulations was flawed and failed the provisions of the Promotion of Just Administrative Act. They allege that the new rules were signed into law a day before their comments were considered by the department of economic development, environment and tourism.

The department on the other hand has cited liquor abuse and perceived increase in violence connected to alcohol consumption after midnight as the rationale behind the restrictions. There is no doubt that alcohol abuse contributes to some of the nation’s ills. In fact, South Africans are regarded to be among heaviest drinkers in the world.

This has led to experts proposing implementation of evidence-based policies to reduce alcohol consumption to cut down on the risks associated with alcohol use.

Let’s make it abundantly clear that we believe that introducing alcohol sale restrictions in the interest of public health is necessary. However, when such drastic decisions are taken which have direct impact on businesses and livelihoods, they ought to stand the highest test of scrutiny and cannot be rushed.

Alcohol regulation has proved hard to get right for years with political climate tending to influence which way the wind blows on freedom versus restrictions.  

Furthermore, the experience from Covid-19 era, when tougher restrictions were put in place for alcohol sales to manage the health impact of the pandemic, showed that the biggest challenge is not lack of policy but the enforcement of the laws.

Other lessons learnt were also that there are perverse consequences to such regulations in that there was an increase in the so-called black market operators. It therefore requires that when the government intends to change liquor laws it strikes a fine balance between these competing interests.

In the Limpopo case, the court is being asked to adjudicate on the liquor traders’ rights to fair administrative process which on the face of it appears to have been disregarded.