Liquor - The City of Cape Mayor, Patricia de Lille, poured more than 5000 bottles of alcohol confiscated on beaches this holiday season down the drain at an Ndabeni storage area. The 2600 litres of confiscated alcohol were worth R66000. The haul of alcohol included cases of beer, ciders, brandy and champagne. Liquor is banned on all Cape Town beaches, but people persist in taking their alcohol to drink on beaches or other public spaces. Law enforcement officers will patrol the beaches over the festive season to try and curb the consequences of drinking illegally. The public is encouraged to support legal, liquor licensed businesses to enjoy liquor of their choice. (Article by New Age, edited by LiquorWise)

Liquor Licence Holders - Liquor Licence Holders were surprised by an compliance operation by Liquor Board Inspectors, the The South African Police Service and other liquor law enforcement agencies in the Wallacedene and Bloekombos area of Cape Town to investigate whether liquor traders were complying to the conditions of their liquor licences. Several fines were issued for selling liquor from incorrectly zoned parts of premises and for not having working fire extinguishers. The liquor licence holders were also investigated for serving alcohol to minors, selling alcohol for off-consumption with an on-consumption licence, lapsed licences(when not renewed annually) and the violation of trading hours. 1 700 inspections have been carried out in the Western Cape since April 2011. Fines in excess of R120 000 have been issued. Minister Winde expressed his concern about some liquor outlets which had produced home-made brews (fruit ale). According to him, it is sold cheaper than water. He promised that his department will be investigating all ways possible to stop the production and sale of it. "We are enforcing a zero-tolerance approach, and a further 400 raids are planned for the December and January festive period. In addition, law enforcement will keep a close watch on premises that have already been inspected to ensure that non-compliant behaviour has ceased," said Minister Winde. He acknowledged that liquor is an important income and employment generator for our province, but this must be weighed against its harms. If licensed outlets abide by the rules, we'll see a significant drop in the negative effects of alcohol. We encourage them to get their houses in order now. This December and January, we are ramping up inspections in partnership with SAPS, municipal law enforcement and local CPFs around the province to ensure responsible trading and consumption of alcohol. Through these actions, we are making our communities better together." Chairperson of the Western Cape Liquor Board, Mr Raybin Windvogel, explained that a licence is granted based on an agreement between the Liquor Board, the local community and the liquor trader : "We impose conditions for a reason and when sellers don't obey them, the entire community is affected by increased crime, vehicle crashes, domestic violence and general disorder. We need to guard against these highly damaging effects of alcohol by creating a culture of compliance." If liquor outlets have any queries relating to licensing, they can call LiquorWise on 0861059473.

Liquor Licence Renewal - The Gauteng Liquor Board has called on all Gauteng liquor licence holders to renew their licences. The liquor licence renewal period started on December 1 and licence holders are required to renew their licences. In terms of the Gauteng Liquor Act, licences are renewed annually. Liquor Licence Holders must ensure that they comply with the Gauteng Liquor Act because non-compliance is a punishable offence. The chief director of the liquor licensing office, said traders who continued trading without renewing their licences would be doing so illegally. Liquor Traders who trade without renewing their liquor licences, run the risk of having the businesses closed, their liquor confiscated and being prosecuted. The Liquor Board ensured that their office will be open during festive season to ensure that those liquor traders who want to renew their liquor licences can do so. Liquor Traders in Gauteng have been complaining for more than a year about the cumbersome renewal process which they have to follow when compared to other provinces. The following is a demonstration : Gauteng Liquor Licence Renewal - Collect Renewal Notice personally at Liquor Board - Make payment at FNB Branch - Present proof to Liquor Board Liquor Licence Renewal in most other SA Provinces - Renewal Notice Posted to Licence Holder - Pay per EFT - Keep proof of payment Liquor Traders say it is unreasonably time consuming and expense. (Article in New Age, Edited by LiquorWise)

Liquor Licensing Committee - The Mossel Bay Town Council has established a 5 member committee to represent the Municipality when commenting on liquor licence applications. The Town Council is acting in anticipation of the new Western Cape Liquor Act to be implemented in April 2012. The new Western Cape Liquor Act requires that municipalities comment on all liquor licence applications. Ward councillors are also required to comment and will therefore be co-opted on the committee for any application in the councillor's ward. LiquorWise is keeping track of the appointment of these municipal committees and will keep all licence holders up to date of progress in their respective municipal areas. It has long been a concern of LiquorWise that municipalities are not addressing this issue with the urgency it requires. Liquorwise will be communicating with Western Cape Municipalities to encourage the appointment of liquor licence committees and to offer assistance to set up such committees. In terms of the Act, comments must also be obtained from the relevant Ward Councillor. Council has therefore given approval for the Councillor, in whose ward the licenced premises are situated, to be co-opted on the Committee for the application concerned.

Liquor Board - The Western Cape Liquor Conference will be hosted at the Old Mutual Auditorium, Mutual Park, Pinelands on 15 December 2011. LiquorWise will report on matters of interested to licence holders and the general public raised at the conference.

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)

A policeman, in uniform, forced an an elderly couple from Johannesburg to pay R75 for a meal they say they couldn’t eat at a seafood restaurant in Kwazulu-Natal. They were told to either pay – or be arrested. Legal experts, with whom LiquorWise concurs, say that the SAP should never have been called to settle a civil dispute between the parties. The SAP should only act in case of a possible criminal offence having been committed or threatened to be committed. The KZN Liquor Act does not apply in such cases, but the legislation ruling criminal offences do. The couple said they were “horrified” by the abuse they allegedly received after they had complained about the quality of the food to the management of the Crayfish Inn restaurant in Ramsgate, They were allegedly verbally abused by the managers and were forced to pay for a meal that had been overcooked and dry. The couple, the Stiffs, visited the restaurant three weeks ago while holidaying on the South Coast. “Fran ordered a main course of grilled dorado. However… her dorado was overcooked and dried out.” Stiff claimed the co-owner flew into a temper on hearing their complaints. “He then told my wife and I that regardless of whether we ate the fish or not, we would pay for the fish, which cost around R75.” The couple stood up and headed for the front door but were blocked by another of the restaurant owners. “He pushed me around and told me to go back to my table and pay for what I had ordered. There was nothing I could do as I am 78 and I am on crutches, so I was defenceless,” said Peter Stiff. The owners summoned the police, who told the couple to pay for the meal they had ordered or be arrested. The owners of the Crayfish Inn confirmed they’d called the police after the couple refused to pay for their meal. “Neither the staff nor management laid a hand on the couple,” said manager Johnson Shou. “Neither did we verbally abuse either of them.” Shou said the couple had complained consistently from the moment they sat down. Although she said that the restaurant had attended to every complaint and offered them free meals, they just refused to pay. “If the consumers felt threatened or were abused in any way by the police they can report this to the Independent Complaints Directorate,” said Bianca Coelho Barata of law firm Goldman Judin Inc. Barata urged consumers to report restaurants to the National Consumer Forum should they be unhappy with the treatment they receive. Ramsgate police did not respond to numerous requests for comment. (Article by Independent on Saturday, edited by LiquorWise)

In South Africa, as in many other parts of the world, Sunday liquor sales are always a much disputed talking point. When the Free State Liquor Act was launched last year, it catered for Sunday trading by liquor stores. Just as Free Staters were getting use to this, the regulations were amended and Sunday trading is no longer allowed! It may be of interest to South African consumers and liquor store owners to read about the perception of the public and traders in Grand Rapids, a county in the US state of Michigan. We at LiquorWise were surprised how much the reaction of the folks in Grand Rapids concurred with the feedback we received last year from the Free State public and liquor store owners. Dudley Larson, a liquor store owner in Grand Rapids, said that he didn’t have much choice but to open Sunday mornings. "I’d rather be closed, but everyone else is doing it, so you have to do it and I would be losing money otherwise," said Larson, owner of Dudley’s Party Store. “The sales have been ok”. Michigan Liquor Control Commission statistics show Larson is in good company with his decision to sell alcohol on Sunday mornings. The State has allowed Sunday sales before noon since December 2011 in terms of an annual $160 permit. They could previously only sell on Sundays after 12h00. 5,974 businesses now have Sunday morning sales permits. Data from the Michigan Liquor Control Commission shows that across the state, In Kent County, 281 places have Sunday morning permits, compared to 575 with Sunday afternoon permits. In Ottawa County, 88 businesses are permitted to sell on Sunday morning, while 178 have the afternoon permits. Statewide, the Sunday morning permits have generated $950,000 for the state. "It’s been a success," said Justin Hermiz, owner of Fulton Party Store at 734 Fulton St., near National Avenue. "We open at 10 a.m. instead of noon." Hermiz said the sales offset the $160 fee and employee costs. "After a couple of Sundays, you have your money back," he said. "You’re going to profit. There’s no way you can’t." But for Larry Lawrence, owner of B & B Liquor Store on 28th Street SE near Breton Road, the potential profits are not worth it. He would rather stick with tradition and give his employees a break on Sunday morning. "I would never ask any of my employees to work it," he said. He says people already have lots of opportunity to buy alcohol. "Do you have to be selling booze 24 hours a day?," he asked. "It just doesn’t seem necessary. They have Saturday night up until 2 a.m." Lawrence said that he considers the $160 permit fee a money grab for the state, particularly since liquor stores already pay a separate fee for selling Sunday afternoons. "It seems to me if you pay one license for Sunday, that should be enough," he said. Paul DeBartolo, owner of Bottlenecks, said some people still don’t know that stores are allowed to sell alcohol on Sunday mornings. A couple of customers who came into his store last Sunday were surprised to hear about the change. Bottlenecks opens at 9 a.m. on Sunday mornings, he said, mostly because it offers convenience to those who want it. The law allows sales as early as 7 a.m. "I can’t say it’s been a huge increase in sales," he said. "But it’s good for the people who want to buy alcohol." (Article in GRPress, edited by LiquorWise)

Residents around Gauteng will be spoilt for choice as more township restaurants and other leisure establishments are going the legal route and improving their standards. The Gauteng Liquor Board said that it had noticed an increase of about 50% in the number of restaurants applying for liquor licences in townships like Soweto, Katlehong and Sharpeville. Monga Phaladi, secretary-general of South African Leisure Tourism & Hospitality, said that there was an increase in black people who were legalising their establishments. “Now black establishments want to be legalised and display their licences and health certificates so that they can benefit from tourism,” she said. Phaladi said that the legalisation of establishments led to professionalism and a higher quality of products on offer. She said Tiger Brands had offered cooking courses for a year to 10 emerging restaurants in Ekurhuleni, Tshwane and Johannesburg. Bally Chuene, chairperson of the Gauteng Liquor Board, said they had noted a increase in outlets in the townships. “Our inspectors went to see that equipment like stoves and proper kitchens are there,” he said. Chuene said that they conducted thorough inspections before granting licences. Phaladi called on the government to bring business to restaurants in townships. “We are grateful for the support and funding they give us, like the project with SA Tourism whereby they adopt and market a restaurant, but they need to start utilising township establishments themselves,” she said. Phaladi said that by using these establishments, the government would also be promoting tourism in that area. “Mainly restaurants in heritage sites benefit, but they can come to us and we will tell them about other places,” said Phaladi. (Article by The New Age – Edited by Liquorwise)

SAB, the South African subsidiary of SABMiller recorded good growth in emerging markets, but complains of the government dragging its heels to lift the Gauteng moratorium on new liquor licences. The would-be tavern owners will be hurt by the current moratorium on granting new liquor licences in Gauteng. Norman Adami, managing director and chairman of South African Breweries (SAB), said that the lack of capacity was frustrating. "We want to see a healthy industry that is normalised, but in order to have a healthy, normalised industry, you need to have an appropriate number of licences to serve the broader society," said Mr Adami. He compared South Africa to Poland and Colombia, which have similar figures for gross domestic product per capita and population size. Colombia has 480000 licensed liquor outlets and Poland more than 300000, but South Africa has only 60000, which suggests there could be as many as 180000 unlicensed outlets alongside the country’s legitimate resellers. "It’s very much a vestige of the past — an overhang from the Nationalist government," Mr Adami said. He added it was a form of "reverse discrimination", and that although SAB did not expect to sell any more or any less beer in the short to medium term as a result, the industry needed certainty to attract long-term investment. "The previous government tried to police the shebeens out of existence for 40 years without success. Why would this government be any different from the last?" he said. The global brewer expects emerging markets to account for most of its growth over the next few years. In the US and Europe, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation moved down 6% in the period. "Within each business they are optimising their performance — we don’t foresee that in the next six months conditions are going to change materially, but we also believe emerging markets are going to perform and will be able to offset any temporary weakness," he said. In South Africa, the company increased revenues and profits, despite steady beer volumes and a fall of 3% in soft-drink sales. "We were very pleased with our performance given relatively soft economic conditions in South Africa with the consumer under pressure," Mr Adami said. "Castle Light performed particularly well selling at a premium price," he said. Analysts had expressed concern about whether margins in South Africa would hold, but Mr Adami said the company had been able to grow margins for the past two years. "The South African business reflects a consolidated margin of the beer, soft drinks and Appletizer business and our share of Distell . That would give a lower margin than the beer business," he said. (Business Day Article, edited by LiquorWise)