Facing the Storm Together

SALTA COLUMN

FACING THE STORM TOGETHER A word from the South African Liquor Traders Association

What 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 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.

FROM EDWARD SNELL & CO. LTD, WE’RE PROUD TO INTRODUCE THE MONATE MIXED CASE CAMPAIGN TO SOWETO

A CASE OF 12 UNITS, CONSISTING

3 x 750ml Russian Bear Vodka original 3 x 750ml Firstwatch 3 x 750ml Wellington VO 3 x 750ml Stretton’s Gin

The Monate Mixed Case allows customers to buy a range of brands at an accessible price. These will be exclusively available at Big Daddy’s Devland as well as Midway Liquor Distributors in Soweto.

HOW IT WORKS

The customer purchases 3 cases of the Monate Mixed Case and gets a unique code inside each case to SMS.

The first 40 taverns to purchase the required quantities & register via the unique code will automatically win a Monate event with one of SA’s 2 top DJs, Bobstar or Milkshake.

THE BENEFIT

The benefit to the customer is that we bring an event to the outlet to drive sales for this unique offering.

HOW WE WILL SUPPORT YOU

With the event that will happen on the day, we will bring a world class consumer experience, which will result in sales & more money in your till, as well as a follow up sales service from our local sales rep.

DISTRIBUTOR ADDRESSES

Big Daddy’s Devland Midway Liquor Distributors Cnr Houthammer rd & East str 135 Industry rd Devland Soweto 010 492 2852 011 980 8201

FOR MORE INFORMATION YOU CAN CONTACT

Rami Thlapane 0827771693 or 0760926964