Luanda — The Members of the Angolan Parliament on Thursday defended the inclusion in the law the prohibition of the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages within a perimeter of 500 meters of churches and cemeteries.
The parliamentarians expressed this position in Luanda during the first session of discussion and approval of the draft Law on the Special Regime for the Availability and Consumption of Alcoholic Beverages, a bill that prohibits the sale of these beverages in the perimeters of hospital, military, police and educational institutions, within a radius of 300 meters.
In addition, the Members of the Parliament (MP) also suggest the current extension of the prohibition hours from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm to 9 pm, in educational facilities and for other institutions, that the prohibition be during the 24 hours of each day.
They also pointed out, among the main contributions, the redefinition of the name of the aforementioned draft law, changing it to 'Special Law on the Commercialization and Consumption of Alcoholic Beverages', as well as the extension of the perimeter from 300 to 500 meters of these institutions.
The MP also advocated the need for the law to punish sellers and consumers in the prohibited perimeters, with the exception of large commercial areas, tourist organizations and occasional activities, as well as to strengthen the effectiveness of inspection, without hurting the freedom of citizens and merchants.
Also on Thursday, parliamentarians from the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 10th committees of the National Assembly considered and considered two of the four chapters of the aforementioned bill to be in accordance with each other.
The bill, a legislative initiative of the Executive, is composed of four chapters and 15 articles, providing for regulating the commercial activity of alcoholic beverages, with the aim of the Angolan State ensuring public safety and the protection of youth.
The document also prohibits the sale of alcoholic beverages to minors under 18 years of age and to those who are notoriously intoxicated or have an apparent psychic anomaly.
The draft law also has a sanctioning regime that, depending on the seriousness of the offense and the guilt of the agent, provides for the application of a fine or, cumulatively with the fine, accessory sanctions (closure or revocation of the license of the commercial establishment, restaurants or similar).
Regarding this law, the Secretary of State for the Hospital Area, Leonardo Inocêncio, recalled that the excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages has serious consequences for health, jeopardizing professional practice, school learning and intellectual capacity in general.
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Therefore, the leader said that the legislative initiative is based on preventing excessive consumption of drinks, counting on the contribution of parliamentarians, so that the objective of the law achieves the desired effectiveness.
The debate on the proposal for the Law on the Special Regime for the Availability and Consumption of Alcoholic Beverages continues this Friday (10), being definitively approved on the 22nd of this month. OPF/QCB/DOJ
