Kanye — Kanye District councillors have unanimously rejected government's proposed amendment to the Liquor Act, which seeks to abolish liquor control authorities and transfer their powers to a director.
Under the proposal, the director would then delegate the powers to council secretaries or town clerks. The decision followed a presentation by Assistant Minister of Trade and Entrepreneurship, Mr Baratiwa Mathoothe, during a recent Kanye District Full Council meeting.
Mr Mathoothe explained that transferring powers would simplify and expedite the licensing process, effectively making it an over-the-counter service. He explained that the bill aimed to address regulatory shortfalls and enhance penalties for better industry oversight.
The assistant minister told councillors that key updates included redefining premises to include land, buildings or specific places to remove legal ambiguity, introducing online liquor licensing and catering for additional products sold in liquor outlets, such as ice blocks and condoms, redefining night clubs as indoor entertainment venues specifically equipped for dancing and live music as well as removing licensing requirements for homemade traditional beer, tourism enterprises and canteens within the Department of Wildlife and National Parks.
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The debate centred on the current 500-metre distance requirement from schools, highways, major roads and churches. Mr Mathoothe noted that such restrictions had led to an influx of applications for exemptions, meaning the law was currently being implemented primarily through loopholes.
The proposed amendment, he added also sought to delete the distance requirements for highways, major roads and churches to facilitate easier licensing and further maintain the 500-metre restriction for schools to ensure the safety and well-being of learners.
Despite easing of some hurdles, he said the bill introduced new grounds for the revocation of licenses, including failure to collect a license after approval, providing false information during the application process and failure to comply with specific license conditions. The assistant minister further noted that the sector remained plagued by challenges such as noise pollution, persistent non-compliance and lenient penalties that failed to deter offenders.
Councillor Mr Shimane Thelo of Lotlhakane East-Diabo argued that more authority should be decentralised to local councils. Other councillors shared the same sentiment, arguing that moving control to the director would effectively take services away from the people. BOPA
BOPA
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