25 Sep 2018

The Botswana Alcohol Industry Association (BAIA) has been hailed for its continued efforts to raise awareness on the dangers of excessive alcohol consumption. 

Officiating at BAIA’s annual general meeting on September 24, Assistant Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, Mr Moiseraele Goya said what the association was doing was commendable particularly that government could not single-handedly tackle the issue of irresponsible alcohol consumption and its associated dangers. 

Mr Goya encouraged the association to target the youth in their sensitisation campaign, saying young people were the most affected when it came to issues of excessive and irresponsible consumption of alcohol. 

The assistant minister stated that government was on a drive to holistically address key issues affecting the alcohol industry. Among those he cited was the possible review of both entertainment hours and the alcohol levy. Mr Goya expressed optimism that the two issues would be looked into in the not-so-distant future. 

The assistant minister, on the one hand, expressed concern about noise pollution from bars, indicating that some members of the public had even suggested that the playing of music in bars be banned and be reserved for only night clubs. 

He said efforts by bye-law officers to keep the problem under check had been defeated by the lack of cooperation by some bar operators. 

Addressing the meeting, BAIA chairperson, Mr Mothusi Molokomme said the association would continue its drive to engage all key stakeholders such as local authorities. He noted that the bulk of  them had been addressed during council meetings. 

Regarding the state of the alcohol industry as per the latest report by BIDPA, Mr Molokomme said while there had been a per capita decrease in alcohol consumption in the country, the findings were not truly reflective of the situation on the ground as it did not take into consideration the consumption of illicit home brews. 

Furthermore, he noted that the report indicated that the reduction of alcohol trading hours had led to the mushrooming of illegal traders of homebrews. 

Additionally, he observed that according to the BIDPA report the inception of the alcohol levy had not resulted in a decrease in alcohol consumption. ENDS