The KwaZulu-Natal Liquor Authority says it estimates that the province has over seven thousand illegal liquor outlets. The organisation regulates liquor licensing and control of the liquor industry in the province.
The regulatory body has raised concerns that illegal liquor outlets contribute to high levels of crime, and is further concerned that these illegal establishments are selling alcohol to minors. The authority is currently working together with police to close down illegal liquor outlets. However, it says these establishments reopen soon after closure because people are willing to buy alcohol there.
Media release on recent Blitz Operations to combat non-compliant liquor outlets. pic.twitter.com/zVaeshQSav
— KwaZulu-Natal Liquor Authority (@KZN_LQA) July 19, 2022
The liquor regulatory body says that in the entire province it has only 25 inspectors who inspect licensed premises and work on ensuring the compliance with liquor regulations by outlets.
Acting CEO of the body, Bheki Mbanjwa, says it is a challenge to shut down unlicensed outlets, and is appealing to communities to work with police.
“We have about 7 000 liquor outlets in the province. There are those that are trading illegally, although I can’t give you the exact number, but I can tell you that the estimate is that they are far more than the number of legal traders and that is really the biggest problem that we have in the province,” confirmed Mbanjwa.
The KwaZulu-Natal Liquor Licensing Act states that a liquor license cannot be issued to an outlet that is within a 500-metre radius of schools and places of worship. The Act also bars the issuance of liquor licenses in areas that have high incidences of crimes, including gender based violence. Despite this, Mbanjwa says some outlets are close to schools and churches, due to their licenses having been issued before the Act was passed in 2010.
“The reality is that quite a number of those outlets which are in close proximity to schools were issued under the old Act of 1989,” adds the CEO of the Authority.
A look at the Liquor Amendment Bill:
In counteracting this, the Liquor Authority tried to relocate the liquor shops operating since the previous Act, but were taken to court by the owners of those establishments and often the judgments were handed out against them as the courts held that the current Act could not apply retroactively.
To that Mbanjwa says, “That means that the only thing we can do now is to closely monitor them and ensure that they don’t sell alcohol to school kids.”
KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Jay Naicker says police are working to clamp down on illegal liquor outlets. Naicker says 453 illegal liquor outlets were closed down in the month of July, and 695 legally operating liquor outlets were issued fines for not complying with the Liquor Act.
“We also seized over 16 000 litres of alcohol in these operations. The challenges we experience with these illegal liquor outlets are obviously ongoing. Because they get such good support from communities, they are open and they continue to operate,” adds the police spokesperson.
Mbanjwa continues by saying that community members have a right to report illegal establishments as well as non-compliant liquor outlets.
“Communities also have a right to object to an application for the issuing of a license of a new liquor outlet,” concludes Mbanjwa.
