16 Apr 2026

Parliament has been informed that sale of Chibuku is permitted under each of the eight liquor lincenses being bar, bottle store, liquor depot, night club, distributor, club liquor, temporary liquor and wholesale liquor licenses. 

Assistant Minister of Trade and Entrepreneurship, Mr Baratiwa Mathoothe said on Tuesday that Chibuku was classified as traditional beer, which was defined as beer brewed under licence from sorghum meal or mixture of sorghum meal and mealie meal by the fermentation of malt sorghum for commercial purposes. 

Mr Mathoothe said traditional Beer Regulations of 2011 permitted sale of five declared traditional beer from residential premises being Khadi, Setopoti, Mokuru, Nkumbi and Ila. “The Beer (Amendment) Regulations, 2026 further permits beer made beer powder to be sold from residential premises. 

The sale of Declared Traditional Beer does not require a liquor license, however, brewers are required to register with Dikgosi in respective localities for monitoring purposes,” he said. 

He added that key requirements for application of liquor lincenses included proof of availability of business premises, satisfactory environmental health inspections report for all applications and satisfactory zoning report. 

“Certified copies of valid Omang for citizens and passport for non citizens and publication of the application twice in the Government Gazette, DailyNews or any private newspaper in accordance with Section 13 of the Liquor Act, 2003 are also requirements,” he said.

 Kgatleng West MP, Dr Unity Dow, had wanted to know the various licences under which a trader could sell alcohol as well as key requirements for each type of licence. 

Dr Dow also wanted to know the conditions under which a trader could sell Chibuku. ENDS