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A response to the memorandum
from Spotong Issue 30
by 3S Media
GLF COLUMN
A RESPONSE TO THE MEMORANDUM
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On 30 April 2019, Gauteng Liquor Traders representatives met with government officials from the Gauteng Liquor Board and the Office of the Premier in Newtown, JHB. The purpose of this meeting was for the Premier to respond to the memorandum. We had also listed some of the issues that formed part of the memorandum to be prioritised, which were: a. Request an extension to the date given by the court judgment b. Permit succession to family members c. Closing of shebeens near schools d. Police to stop raiding shebeens e. Provision to appoint manager f. Fees increment by Gauteng Liquor Board This meeting was chaired by Margaret Tleane from the Office of the Premier. Special advisor to the Premier Mr Mxolisi Xayiya was privy to the meeting and he requested that the meeting must not only be a talk-show. The chief director of the Gauteng Liquor Board was asked by the chairperson to give a response to the memorandum. He responded by saying: a. The Gauteng Liquor Board has a good relationship with the Gauteng Liquor Forum b. Court judgment promulgated in favour of the applicant and the department was given two years to implement the judgment c. Issues are attended to and taking longer than anticipated d. Police raids are targeting illegal shebeens e. Gauteng Liquor Board raids are targeting non-compliant shebeens f. The issuing of permits was to try to regulate shebeens and was not regulated g. License fees not increased in 13 years but inputs were not considered h. The Office of the Premier to facilitate meeting with SALGA The Office of the Premier issued a directive to formulate the forum between government officials and association heads.
On 20 May 2019, there was a meeting at the Gauteng Liquor Board. This meeting did not live up to expectations because government officials had failed to properly respond to the memorandum.
Another meeting was held on 25 June at the Gauteng Liquor Board and the government responded as follows:
Response to the memorandum from the Gauteng Liquor Board
Background
The Gauteng Liquor Board (GLB) is an entity established in terms of the Gauteng Liquor Act, No. 2 of 2003 (the Act). The mandate of the GLB, as a creature of statute, is derived directly from the Act, and the preamble sets out the functions of the Board as follows: “To provide for the control of the retail sale and supply of liquor within the Gauteng Province; to establish the Gauteng Liquor Board, local committees and a Liquor Trade Association; to regulate applications for licences and to provide for public notification and participation, to regulate the granting of licences in respect of different kinds of licences; to prohibit the sale of liquor to certain categories of people; to provide for general matters such as enforcement procedures; and to provide for matters connected therewith.”
It is common cause that, given the historical and political background of our country, there were indeed a lot of injustices of the past that sought to exclude the majority of South Africa citizens from participating in the economy of the country, including the liquor industry. However, the current democratic government has done its utmost to correct the past through legislation. For instance, with the advancement of the Act, the people of Gauteng are now allowed to apply for a liquor license if they so wish, provided they comply with the minimum requirements, as set out in the Act. For this reason, GLB remains committed to promoting responsible trade and alcohol use, and ensuring that the liquor industry in the Gauteng Province is properly regulated and that people are afforded opportunities to participate in a properly controlled and wellmonitored environment. The purpose of industry regulation is to safeguard the interests of the community, especially the most vulnerable members of society, within which liquor outlets operate. Therefore, the regulation of the liquor industry calls for the balancing of interests in consideration of the socio-economic factors by the GLB as well as industry stakeholders.
Background on shebeen permits
Chapter 10 of the Act, Section 141(m) of the Act refers to a "phased-in approach" to allow the shebeen owners an opportunity to comply with the Act by accumulating funds that will enable them to apply for licenses. The life span for shebeen permits was from 1 November 2004 to 1 May 2006. The shebeen permits were then extended to 1 May 2007. Since this extension period, the shebeen permits were extended until 2013 when the shebeen regulations were implemented. This scenario operated until the court challenge.
Court decision on shebeen permits
To this end, it becomes necessary to highlight some of the findings from the judgment handed down by Matojane J on 1 November 2017, relating to the application brought by the applicants challenging the MEC's decision to issue the 2013 Gauteng Liquor and Shebeen Licences Regulations. The court made the following key findings: • There is no dispute regarding the proliferation of shebeens due to the discriminatory liquor laws under apartheid (par 16) • The Gauteng Liquor Act, despite defining a shebeen as “any unlicensed operation whose primary business is liquor and is selling less than ten (10) cases of 12 x 750ml beer bottles”, does not include shebeens in the kinds of licenses contemplated by section 28 of the Act. • The Act provides at section 141(m) for a
phased-in approach in the transformation of shebeens into compliant liquor retailers. Furthermore, the court was also of the view that given the fact that it found the regulations invalid, the legal implications of this finding would be that shebeen owners could face prosecution, thus the court suspended the order of invalidity, allowing for the regulations to continue for a period of two years to allow the department to remedy its defects. Therefore, the department is currently in the process of implementing the court judgment, and all the affected parties will be informed in due course.
Township planning
There have also been many concerns that relate to municipal township schemes, in particular, the issues relating to the granting of zoning certificates and local authority approvals. To this end, land use schemes are the exclusive competence of the municipalities. Therefore, it would be advisable to engage the South African Local Government Association (SALGA), which is an organisation whose role it is to represent, promote and protect the interests of local governments and to raise the profile of local government, among other objectives.
Raids
Ensuring compliance to the Act is a responsibility of GLB, which it ensures through the deployment of its own team of inspectors. On the other hand, the South African Police Services deploys its own resources to combat crime just as the municipalities also deploy their resources to ensure compliance to municipal by-laws. Most liquor outlets are common focal areas for the police due to high rates of crime that take place around liquor outlets. This is in line with the responsibilities of the SAPS and GLB cannot dictate to another arm of the law.
Licence fee increases
All submissions, including those of the liquor associations and their members, were noted and considered before the fees were increased. The matter of the fees was raised by the portfolio committee and the same response was given to them.
It should also be considered that GLB had not implemented any increases for fourteen years since the advent of the Gauteng Liquor Act of 2003.
Proposed solutions
Many of the proposed solutions suggested by the Gauteng Liquor Forum relate to the Act. All members of the public, including liquor associations, will be afforded an opportunity to make their submissions when the Act or the Regulations are amended.
