Liquor Traders - Cape Town City’s Liquor Enforcement Unit partnered with the Western Cape Liquor Board and Provincial Office of the South African Police Services to conduct integrated operations in Camps Bay, Sea Point, the Waterfront, the Cape Town CBD, and Bellville on the weekend of 12 December 2011.

The Unit focused on contravention of the Business Act as well as the City’s Community Fire Safety By-Law and Streets, Public Places and Prevention of Noise Nuisances By-law.

Officers inspected 43 night clubs and issued 48 fines to the value of R52 000,00. Three premises were closed under the Liquor Act for non-compliance with regulations.

Combined operations such as this one will be conducted on a regular basis to ensure that the patrons visiting these premises are kept safe. In addition, owners of premises selling liquor are constantly made aware of the Liquor Unit’s zero tolerance approach to non-compliance with City regulations.

Contact LiquorWise for assistance with compliance to the Liquor Act.

Liquor by-law proposing new trading days & hours has been published by the the Swartland Municipality for public comment by interested parties, who have until 3 January 2012 to submit their comments. Off-Consumption sales (liquor stores, wine shops and supermarkets) - The proposed trading days and hours for off-consumption businesses are from Monday to Saturday from 09h00 to 18h00. It provides for wineries to sell on Sundays as well, from 09h00 to 18h00 (under certain circumstances). On-Consumption sales (restaurants, hotels, guesthouses) - The proposed trading days and hours for on-consumption businesses are from 11h00 to 02h00 every day. This includes room service in hotels. Sparkling wine may be sold every day between 08h00 to 11h00 when part of a meal during an organised function. LiquorWise, liquor licensing experts, expects the following provisions to be challenged : • There is no reason why wine shops and supermarkets should be prohibited to sell wine on Sundays, but wineries would be allowed to; • A sport/community organisation (club) may sell until 24h00, but a restaurant/guesthouse may only sell until 23h00 - if the businesses are situated in an area zoned for business and residential purposes; • A Hotel in a residential area may sell until 02h00, but a guesthouse in a residential area only until 23h00. LiquorWise points out that the basis for the abovementioned distinctions is the zoning characteristics of the licensed premises. This basis has been also been used in the Cape-Town City by-law to determine trading hours and has been met with a lot of criticism. LiquorWise has noted that the use of the zoning status of a premises to determine trading hours may be problematic. It doesn’t take into account the varied kinds of businesses which may be legally managed in an area with the same zoning, especially where such businesses affect the public differently (sport bar vs restaurant). LiquorWise "Latest News" section keeps role players and interested parties up to date with the latest liquor by-laws applicable in the different Municipal areas of the Western Cape.

When you decide to apply for a liquor licence be sure of the type of business you are going to open. There are different types of liquor licences and each one has their own conditions and regulations. In this article if the business owner has a Hotel Liquor Licence, this does not mean that he may manage a strip club within the Hotel. Visit our website if you have any liquor licence related queries! Two men were arrested for drug possession and another for operating an illegal strip club in Primrose, Ekurhuleni police said on Saturday. Inspector Mveli Nhlapo said police received a tip-off about suspicious activities at a hotel on Friday. "The 40-year-old owner of the hotel was arrested after he was found to be running an illegal strip club in the building," said Nhlapo. The other two men, aged 25 and 40, were found with cocaine and dagga. (Article by News24 – Edited by Liquorwisee)

Food and restaurant franchise conglomerate Famous Brands’ efforts to revamp its Keg pub brand have been stymied by the Gauteng Liquor Board’s decision to freeze all new liquor licence applications until next year. Famous Brands bought 28 Keg and five McGinty’s franchised outlets from Kingco in late 2010 in a R27m deal that added a leisure component to the company’s mainly fast food offering. At the time Famous brands conceded the Keg brand needed “renovation and innovation”, but plans for a revamp have been put on hold. Famous Brands CEO Kevin Hedderwick says a newly re-branded Keg in Johannesburg’s northern suburbs, which is central to plans to convince franchise holders to convert to a new trading format, cannot open its doors until the board lifts the moratorium on applications for new liquor licences. Hedderwick says developments are most frustrating. “We’d love to show our franchisees how good the new look for the Keg is ... We wanted to show them where the new brand is headed.” Instead Famous Brands is lumped with a lease that has to be serviced and has incurred development costs with no way of generating cash flows. Hedderwick is hopeful the board will reopen applications in early February. However, the FM reported recently (Fox September 30) that the end of the moratorium in early February will begin with a phased reopening of licence applications — which means it might still be a long wait before first round is called in the new-look Keg. (Article by Marc Hasenfuss – Edited by Liquorwise)

The province’s liquor board’s doors are shut to licence applications and will stay shut until well into 2012, says Gauteng’s director of liquor Max Mothlake. Gauteng hospitality businesses seeking a liquor licence are in for a long wait. The province’s liquor board’s doors are shut to licence applications and will stay shut until well into 2012, says Gauteng’s director of liquor Max Mothlake. The hospitality sector is the victim of mismanagement at the liquor board, on which the auditor-general blew the whistle in 2010. Added was a liberal dose of corruption, which forced Gauteng economic development MEC Qedani Mahlangu to fire the board’s previous members and as from August 8 institue a moratorium for 6 months. This brought development in Gauteng’s hospitality market to a halt. Sales of businesses involving liquor licences are frozen and opening of new establishments halted. “We planned to open up to 10 restaurants each with 60 staff before the end of the year,” says Spur Corp MD Pierre van Tonder. “Without liquor licences it’s impossible.” High court judge Julius Matojane ruled against an application to overturn the licence moratorium. Expressing the sector’s frustration Van Tonder says: “Legitimate, job-creating businesses are punished because of illegal actions [at the liquor board]”. The corruption game at the board was fake licences. “If falsified licences weren’t being printed by corrupt staff internally they were being printed externally in collusion with staff members,” says Mothlake, who in March was charged with fixing the shambles. SAB Egoli region GM Leonard Volschenk says Gauteng liquor board estimates suggest there are 10000 fraudulent liquor licences in the province. About 15000 legitimate licences have been issued. Volschenk points to the problem SAB faces in supplying liquor outlets with suspect licences. “Only the liquor board [can] confirm whether a licence is valid and it has been unwilling to engage in a verification process,” he says. The chairperson of the Liquor Board said the an IT system is being installed, which would solve the problem of fake licences being issued. It would enable applications to be submitted online. Businesses hoping for normality to be restored next February 8 should prepare themselves for more frustration. The moratorium’s end will not result in the liquor board’s doors being opened in a business-as-usual way. It will be a phased reopening. “We don’t want to be flooded by an unmanageable volume of applications,” says Mothlake (Financial Mail article - Edited by LiquorWise)

South Africa’s largest beer festival will be hosted at the Hamilton’s Rugby Club(Green Point) from Friday, 25 to Sunday 27 November. The public can expect world-class brewers, local micro-breweries, local entertainment, fantastic food and other activities. Some of the world-class breweries who will be present are Camelthorn, Darling, Bavaria, Camelthorn, Castle, Carling Black Label, Cobra, Corona, Darling, Duvel, Erdinger, Jack Black, Mitchells, Napier, Oettinger, Maredsous, Paulaner, Singha, Tiger, Valentines and more. (The Taverner article, edited by LiquorWise)

Catherine rice reports that Western Cape Premier Helen Zille recently took part in a safety summit in Khayelitsha. The OR Tambo Hall was packed with neighbourhood watch members and representatives from the justice system following eight murders in just one week in the area. Zille said alcohol is a major contributing factor. She said that the new Liquor Act will be implemented in April 2012 and she believes it will make a major difference. “We will then, in pilot areas, close down illegal shebeens for a start and levy fines of up to R1 million to anybody supplying liquor to illegal liquor outlets,” she said. (Edited by LiquorWise)

Die moratorium op die uitreiking van enige dranklisensies in Gauteng sal op 8 November reeds 3 maande in werking wees en die drankbedryf word finansieël baie seer gemaak. Kenners van die bedryf beraam dat heelwat restaurant se omset tussen R250 000 en R350 000 per maand gedaal het en nog sal daal weens dié moratorium. Die Minister het beloof om in Oktober die nodigheid om met die moratorium te volhard te hersien. Bronne na aan die Drankraad glo egter dat die kans daarvoor byna nul is. Intussen het die voorsitter van die Drankraad nog nie op navrae gereageer oor watter strategie in plek is om die agterstande uit te wis, gereageer nie.

Finance, economic development and tourism MEC Alan Winde told the Western Cape Liquor Conference in Cape Town the new liquor act will will come into effect on 1 April next year. It is aimed at reducing drinking spots in residential areas and would hopefully be "a key weapon" against alcohol abuse. He said "On the 1st of April 2012, the Liquor Authority will officially take over from the Liquor Board, and begin to implement the remaining sections of the act. All liquor licences will begin to be processed according to the new act, and enforcement against liquor traders and suppliers who flout its regulations will begin. It seeks to reduce drinking establishments in residential areas, clamp down on the supply of alcohol to illegal liquor outlets and restrict hours of liquor trade". The province plans to finalise the processes required to introduce the act and its regulations by January. In February and March, it would advertise for and appoint the board of the new Liquor Authority. To ease the transition to the new Liquor Authority, the province would introduce a dedicated "liquor advice hotline". It had also ramped up the operations of the current Liquor Board by hiring additional inspectors and streamlining the review of applications. SA Police Service's crime statistics indicates that driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs increased by 10.2 percent in the Western Cape. The province also had high instances of violent crime, 80 percent of which was fuelled by alcohol and drugs.

Sapa reports that raising the legal alcohol drinking age to 21 is one of the proposals to be considered at a forthcoming summit on eradicating alcohol and drug abuse from society, Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini said on Thursday. Her statement follows an inter-ministerial committee on substance abuse meeting on Wednesday ahead of the 2nd Biennial Substance Abuse Summit from March 15 to 17 in Durban. She said alcohol and drug abuse was breaking up families, killing people and leaving others imprisoned. “Our government recognises that alcohol and substance abuse constitute a serious threat to health and development. This undermines our ongoing efforts to build safe and healthy communities,” she said. In South Africa there was a connection between alcohol and substance abuse, gender-based violence, criminal activities such as gangsterism, money laundering, human trafficking, foetal alcohol syndrome, serious road carnage and family disintegration. Alcohol ranked third in the country’s burden of disease and disability after unsafe sex and interpersonal violence. Alcohol was also a factor in 29 percent of driver injuries and more than 47 percent of driver deaths. Dealing with this problem had been prioritised by the government. Other proposals delegates to the summit intended discussing included limitations on alcohol advertising, reviewing licence fees, linking licence renewal to compliance with laws, harmonising existing liquor legislation and enhancing measures to deal with public drinking and drunk driving.  

The Cape Times reported this morning (8 March 2011) - Pub, restaurant and other liquor outlet owners have been given a week’s extension to comment on the Western Cape Liquor Amendment Bill which sets the rules for licensing and other trade regulations.
Last Friday was the deadline for comments from the public, but an extension was given until this Friday after only 11 people commented on the draft regulations.Economic Development and Tourism MEC Alan Winde went on a walkabout in Long Street on Monday to encourage pub owners to have their say about changes in the Western Cape Liquor Act of 2008.
He said the Act was not to be confused with the City of Cape Town’s liquor by-laws, which wants all bars to stop selling liquor at 2am.This by-law, which is under review, has been slammed by venue owners who fear their businesses will close down if they only trade until 2am.
Winde said the Act dealt with rules and restrictions for licensing, extension of trading hours, application procedures and a proposed Liquor Tribunal. He said: “We received very little comment on the regulations so I decided to come out here and proactively make people aware of the process.“We are also going to contact all major liquor outlets because we haven’t received comments from any of them except Makro, but we will call all the breweries to encourage them to comment. If there is anything people don’t agree with, they have until Friday to make submissions. We are giving them an extension so that they can’t say they never knew about it or never had a chance to comment,” he said.
“The provincial law deals with regulations and all licensing procedures. The provincial law also deals with setting up a Liquor Tribunal, which I want to get in place by September. After Friday, the department will sit with the comments and make the changes to draw up the legislation. We will then start advertising for the Liquor Tribunal, which will be set up to control and manage liquor licences and regulations,” Winde said.

Khali Stovell, owner of Bob’s Bar and Bistro in Long Street, knew of the regulations and had made comments. She was “very concerned” about the by-laws. “I do understand that they want to reduce trading hours because of the problems caused by rowdy people, but Long Street is known for its night life. My biggest concern is that people will lose jobs if we close earlier. We won’t need that many people working if we have fewer hours to trade.

The city’s by-law will affect our busiest hours, between 1am and 4am – that’s when we have a surge in clients. We will have to let go of a few people and so will many other venues in Long Street.”Taki Amira, chairman of the city’s liquor policy task team, said the by-law was to come into effect by September, when changes to the Western Cape Liquor Act come into effect. Owners who had their licences renewed before September will not have to stop selling liquor at 2am, but could trade until the time stipulated in their licence until it expires.

 

In an article on www.politicsweb.co.za by DA MPL Jack Bloom on 23 March 2010, he states that Mr Keith Khoza, the former head of the Gauteng Liquor Board, was fired in September last year because he had been appointed as a consultant to set up this agency which in fact did not exist in law. This was the explanation given today by Gauteng Economic Development MEC Firoz Cachalia in an oral reply in the Gauteng Legislature to my questions on this issue. According to Cachalia, Khoza was appointed in terms of a consultancy agreement to set up the Liquor Board as an agency, and his contract expired in March last year. It was renewed on a monthly basis and was terminated in September last year. Cachalia said that he took the view that it was unwarranted to pay him for heading an agency that did not exist. Khoza was paid two months notice, but contested this in the Labour Court which dismissed it by ruling that it was not urgent. He then went to the CCMA, and received an extra payment of R256 000. A further revelation by Cachalia was that he had set up a forensic inquiry by the Resolve Group to investigate allegations of fraud made against Khoza, but no evidence was found such as would justify an adverse finding against him, but it did establish that there were "too many deviations in the procurement process" and his conduct was criticized with regard to a contract by Lefatshe Technologies. In my view, this is a farcical saga that has wasted a lot of public money. Khoza was paid R1.54 million a month, which is much higher than the maximum civil service salary of R1.356 million. I estimate that he received about R0.5 million total payout on leaving the agency, which was notorious for managerial problems and delayed granting of licences. Cachalia has been very secretive about this, and only made this public when formally asked in the Legislature. It reveals something of the pile of irregularities when the department was run by former MEC Paul Mashatile. Khoza has been identified as a key member of Mashatile's so-called "Alex Mafia", and has had a controversial career in various positions in the Gauteng Provincial Government, including head of the Gauteng Economic Development Agency. I believe that there is more rot to be uncovered and Cachalia should be more open about the problems that he has inherited in this department. Statement by Jack Bloom MPL, Democratic Alliance Gauteng Corruption Spokesman, March 23 2010