Where does the Gauteng Liquor Act put shebeens?

LIQUOR LAW WHERE DOES THE GAUTENG LIQUOR ACT PUT SHEBEENS? of municipalities enforcing by-laws by closing them down on the basis Shebeens will never be wished away, they are here to stay! shebeens in law if its legal definition that they are running businesses in a

Jexcludes them from being licensed? residentially zoned area. ob creation and the development of sustainable small businesses The Gauteng Liquor Act is and remains A valid permit holder is now expected remains the biggest challenge in the only legal authority in all retail by the municipality to close down South Africa. Declining economic liquor in Gauteng. Flowing from this because they do not have a zoning activities and slow economic growth discriminatory and inadequate definition, certificate or consent use. A reasonable result in increased unemployment. section 28 of the Gauteng Liquor Act lists person, who runs a shebeen with a valid all kinds of licenses available under the permit, which bears his or her full name The declining levels of economic activity Act but fails to list shebeen licenses. and physical address where liquor is further leads to increasing dependency of supposed to be sold, the quantity of self-employment as a survival mechanism. The failure to list shebeen licenses liquor which could be sold per week, and is deliberate, mischievous and the time he or she is legally obliged to As stated before in previous editions, discriminatory in nature. Throughout the open and close, cannot be deemed to be shebeens have a unique place in South Act you find no expression of shebeens, negligent (or even criminally liable) to African history. The trade has survived apart from the definition section and sell liquor on the basis of the rights they hardship and persecution by the apartheid the section on regulations. This section derive from a valid permit.government, from preventing the vaguely refers to “a phased-in approach, consumption of liquor by black people whereby shebeens will be given an It is now in the hands of the liquor to designing by-laws which made it opportunity to comply with the Act”. authority, whom the court has instructed impossible to sell liquor in the townships. to remedy the defect in as far as This is indeed embarrassing to all shebeen permits are concerned. In the Shebeen traders continue to face these shebeeners who are expected to task of remedying the defect, section hardships and persecution long after the comply with the Act which does not 141(1) (m) gives the MEC powers dawn of the new South Africa. acknowledge their very existence! to develop and design a phased-in As much as the shebeen traders were granted shebeen permits to formalise the trade, many opportunities were missed by both shebeen traders as well as the Gauteng Liquor Board at the time. The preamble of the Act says that "it provides for the control of the retail sale and supply of liquor within the Gauteng province… to regulate application for licenses… to regulate the granting approach, to give opportunity to all valid shebeen permit holders to comply with the Act, which requires compliance with by-laws. Section 23(4) requires an unequivocal approval by the relevant department of the relevant metropolitan Firstly, shebeen permits were not made to be permanent legal documents to trade in liquor for township dwellers who predominantly sell liquor at their place of residence. Emphasis must be of licenses in respect of all kinds of different licenses”. By now many shebeen permit holders are aware that in 2018, the court shot down the argument that shebeens or district council in addition to any zoning or planning laws requirements. This, in addition to the fact that under the Gauteng Liquor Act, there is no provision for a shebeen permit. made that these traders sell liquor at their places of residence. must be granted the status of a special license, where the Act gives the board Lastly, as the court also acknowledged, shebeens will never be wished away, The Gauteng Liquor Act is the main culprit and a poorly drafted piece of legislation. It remains clear that the discretion to give “any other licenses”. What had further deepened the plight of shebeen traders, with a permit to they are here to stay, as to under which legal dispensation, it’s anybody’s guess, at least for now. drafters of this piece of legislation never had shebeen traders in mind and their sell all kinds of liquor, is the action Thabo Thlobelo, Abantu Tobacco & Liquor Laws, 083 725 7708 interests at heart. As to how this legislation was passed without protests from shebeen traders, who remain the heartbeat of the liquor industry in South Africa, remains a mystery. Firstly, the Act defines a shebeen as “any unlicensed operation whose main business is liquor and sells less than 60 cases of beer per week”. This definition alone gives insight into the attitude of the drafters of this legislation. If you define a business as unlicensed by law, where does that put 15 000-plus