SALTA COLUMN
R E H T E G O T M R O T S FACING THE n
uor Traders Associatio
h African Liq A word from the Sout
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hat a wonderful day we had on 25 August at Dlamini Hall in Soweto as our mothers, sisters, colleagues and friends celebrated Women’s Day at the Women In Business event hosted by Spotong magazine. It was my privilege to be invited as a guest of SALTA – I was even afforded the opportunity of addressing the assembled traders. It was incredibly fulfilling to witness ladies from the NTHA, GLF and SALTA celebrating this lovely occasion under the same roof. As I stood there addressing the ladies, I witnessed a spectacle of beauty I hadn’t seen for a while, although I struggled to view it as a whole because I didn’t have my glasses on the day. After my speech I left the main table and joined the ladies on the floor, where I couldn’t stop taking pictures. The decorations were beautiful and I enjoyed the drinks served. Having said this, my heart bleeds when I consider the bleak future awaiting us as liquor traders. As the ladies were enjoying themselves, few were aware that the government, through the Liquor Board, is devising tough regulations that will force most of us to close shop by proposing an exorbitant increase in annual fees, as gazetted in the Provincial Gazette on 28 July 2016. Already, annual fees have increased from R100 to R2,500. Now government wants to impose a further 100% increase on annual tariffs. As traders, this concerns us deeply. It might contravene the Consumer Protection Act in that it’s far-reaching and exorbitant. We don’t understand the rationale behind it. We will be forced to pass the costs on to our patrons, which will negatively affect the overall economy. The fee hike will result 8
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in job losses, and we are not convinced that it will address the socio-economic challenges outlined by the Liquor Board. On the contrary, we believe that the purpose behind the increase is to limit the number of shebeens in townships, as indicated by the Minister of Health in the past. As if this were not enough, the Liquor Board has embarked on an awareness campaign advising our members operating with shebeen permits to start applying for their shebeen licenses. This is because as a department they are not sure of the outcome of a case brought by a group calling themselves the Yeoville and Bellevue Ratepayers Association. The case is due to be heard in the High Court some time in February next year. As ordinary traders, we are caught in the political crossfire. When two bull elephants fight, it’s the grass that suffers. As liquor traders, we need to prepare ourselves for these challenges. Personally, I am glad that as different associations we are able to sit under the same roof and have fun together, as happened on 25 August. I wish we could unite in the same way to face these challenges for the benefit of our members. It’s clear from the look of things that, as traders, we are on our own. Together we stand, divided we fall. Mishack Hlophe President – SALTA
