08 Oct 2023

Government faces the challenge of balancing the need to support and regulate the liquor industry while upholding the nation’s values.

Speaking during a kgotla meeting to consult Bakwena about the envisaged Liquor Act amendment in Molepolole recently, the Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Mmusi Kgafela, emphasised the need to safeguard the liquor industry, citing its significant economic advantages.

However, he expressed concerns about alcoholism negative impact  on society, stating that the country could not compromise its values for the sake of liquor industry economic benefits. He said  alcoholism  threat to economic growth was evident such as to low productivity emanating from high levels of absenteeism.

“This has been a major challenge as some sectors call for the total ban of alcohol in the country, but there are people who earn a living by selling beers,” he said.

Mr Kgafela said banning alcohol could have dire effects on the society as witnessed in the US in the 1920s and locally during the peak of COVID-19, when selling of alcohol was prohibited.

Cartels emerged and underground brews were developed, putting the lives of consumers at risk because the ingredients and their effects were unknown.

He said it was crucial for the government to enact legislation that would help curb social ills emanating from alcohol abuse while at the same time protecting the sector.

Under the amended Liquor Act, bars and other liquor outlets are required to be at least 500 metres from schools, major roads and churches.

Mr Kgafela however said some bar owners had asked him to wave those recommendations, especially where the bars and churches share a building.

He further said some people had called for the enactment of heavy penalties for operators who disregard the law.

The current penalties were effective but never applied sufficiently.

However, he said some people had even proposed that alcohol be sold in supermarkets but this had been rejected.

He noted that while government had reserved such sectors for citizens, some Batswana were fronting for foreigners and government wanted to close the loopholes.

Some residents called for the introduction of stringent penalties against patrons for their wayward behaviour after consuming alcohol.

They said bars along the main road were a major risk, citing one bar which they said made it difficult for ambulances to pass as it was close to Scottish Hospital and along the Molepolole-Gaborone road.

They suggested that the bar should be closed down and allocated a plot somewhere far from the main road and the hospital. Ends