Cape Town - The Western Cape cabinet has decided to move one of its most challenging “game changers” – alcohol harms reduction – away from the Department of Economic Development to the Department of Community Safety.
The move will see Community Safety MEC Dan Plato and his team taking accountability for the Western Cape Liquor Authority.
“The shift of the Western Cape Liquor Authority from the Department of Economic Development and Tourism to the Department of Community Safety is a strategic intervention as the latter department is best placed to co-ordinate and strengthen ties with SAPS and other law enforcement agencies to better police the liquor laws across the province,” said Premier Helen Zille.
Using the recent tragic deaths of eight young women during a stampede at the Osi’s Tavern in Khayelitsha, a licensed outlet, as an example of the harmful effects of alcohol, Zille pointed out that reports indicated that the youngest of the women was 15, the oldest 23, and at least one of them was pregnant with her second child.
The Western Cape Liquor Authority has temporarily suspended the liquor licence of Osi’s Place, pending a final ruling on September 21.
Zille said following a review of interventions and Western Cape legislation over the last decade, it was clear that the regulation of alcohol had not been sufficiently robust and that it was not primarily an economic development issue.
The Western Cape government identified alcohol harms reduction as a game changer for the province because it was destroying lives, tearing apart the social fabric and hampering socio-economic development.
Zille emphasised that there was a lack of an integrated, sustained support for effective interventions to reduce alcohol-related harm in the province.
She added that whereas alcohol was a legal substance, its production, distribution and consumption needed to be managed and regulated responsibly.
“We have therefore started the process of moving accountability for the Western Cape Liquor Authority to the department of Community Safety,” Zille said.
“Evidence shows that the cost of alcohol to the economy exceeds its contribution.
“There is a net tangible cost to the state in the form of medical treatment, emergency medical services, and destroyed or damaged infrastructure.
“And there is enormous negative impact on families, households and communities through lives lost and injuries sustained,” Zille said.
Cape Argus