The new Western Cape Liquor Act is an albatross around the neck of the Democratic Alliance.
The legislation is not the party’s, it was inherited from the former ANC government and evolved through a long process of stakeholder consultation.
The Act refers to everyone engaged in liquor retailing and distribution, requiring traders to acquire licences or cease trading.
The current formulation of the Act precludes virtually all township liquor businesses from becoming legitimate. As such, the Act will preserve the immense economic gap between black traders and established (white) liquor businesses.
According to the Western Cape Liquor Traders’ Association, of the total 7 358 liquor licences currently held throughout the province, only 852 have been awarded to black applicants. Considering that an estimated 35 000 shebeens are in business, the Act is seen as discriminatory and anti-poor.
The development of the Liquor Act has been dominated by (justifiable) social concern about alcohol abuse.
In this respect a powerful alliance of health professionals has used the Act to advance a prohibition agenda by means of restricting access to liquor in black and coloured areas.
However, examining their influential studies with respect to the stated cost burden of alcohol on society, the underlying data appears tenuous.
For example, a 2005 Medical Research Council memo titled “Substance abuse trends in the Western Cape — a summary” , which points to the fiscal burden of alcohol on the province as exceeding R1-billion, has been based on evidence from other countries.
The figure was repeated in the Western Cape Burden of Disease Reduction Project, undertaken for the provincial health department, without further evidence. Further, in an attempt to substantiate its argument, it cites an article that appeared in the Pretoria News, allowing it to conclude that the total national cost of drug and alcohol abuse is “at least” R10-billion annually.
More recently research conducted by the Soul City Institute repeated these subsequent costs. The DA’s administration then latched on to these studies, sexing up the data to claim that 50% of the province’s health budget of R12-billion was spent on “health issues directly and indirectly related to alcohol abuse”.
Quite simply, until the basis for this estimation is made publicly available for scrutiny and peer review, the findings and argument cannot be accepted as accurate and verifiable.
Whatever the true cost of the alcohol burden, the new Liquor Act barely affects licensed liquor traders. In fact, large supermarket chains are now entering township liquor retailing, positioned to benefit as a consequence of the legal elimination of small black businesses.
In our 2009 research into the impact on livelihood of the Act, we found that the existing shebeen industry was a major informal economy player, supporting businesses including braaiers, spaza shops, musicians, hairdressers and car washers — more than 130 000 direct and indirect jobs in the province — dwarfing most other township enterprise sectors.
The existence of shebeens is a development challenge, attributable to the sensible demands for recreation and space within black and coloured communities in a context of deep poverty and social marginalisation.
By rather taking a developmental approach, government could impose obligations on shebeen traders to operate in a responsible manner. Our research revealed that most shebeen traders want to enter the regulatory framework. Further, there is strong community support for this objective.
In response to trader opposition to the proposed Liquor Act, the then ANC administration commissioned consultants in 2009 to survey attitudes towards shebeens in working-class communities.
Critically, the survey found that 76% of the respondents in black townships (246 of 323 respondents) and 63% of respondents in coloured areas (256 of 403 respondents) signalled their approval of regulated shebeens that would comply with specific rules.
Yet both the ANC and DA governments have kept the results of this survey under wraps.
Alcohol abuse is a serious issue that requires serious attention from government. Yet a legal framework that will affect 130 000 livelihoods must reflect the realities of township life and cannot merely legislate away problems linked to alcohol.
The Western Cape Liquor Act is a blunt instrument designed to deny the poor access to liquor. Ironically, its implementation will result in increasingly criminalised informal traders and increased profit for corporate retailers, to the cost of economic development.
Andrew Charman and Leif Petersen are directors of the Sustainable Livelihoods Foundation, a newly established agency specialising in research, public engagement and innovation within human development