Alex taverns reap big rewards from awards

Five licensed liquor traders from Alexandra walked away with R1 million at the I Love Alex Awards on June 7 for their persuasive ideas on responsible drinking that will benefit the community.

This comes after completing long training that equipped them with skills to run sustainable and competitive businesses in the township. Through the I Love Alex project, a programme of the Responsible Beverage Services (RBS), the five entrepreneurs presented their ideas to the Alexandra community.
The ideas were based on how they will transform their businesses and champion responsible consumption in a manner that will benefit the community, and thereby aligning with South African Breweries’ values.

The RBS initiative is a community-based ground-up approach to reducing the risks associated with the sale of alcohol by licensed liquor traders in Alexandra and was initiated by the SAB Foundation as part of a global pilot project, in partnership with Sanca, Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department, the Department of Education and the Department of Health.
Borsch Liquor store owner Monica Borchardt said she will use the money to upgrade her business in a way that fosters a greater culture of responsibility in the community, while ensuring that she and her customers continuously abide by the SAB values.

“Retail is the backbone of township economies,” said Zanele Mphuthi, SAB regional corporate affairs manager, adding that due to its high informal nature of trading as well as lack of support, tends to hamper its resilience and growth. Mphuthi added that SAB traders are a major channel of influence for the organisation to address responsible consumption.
Mphuthi believes such partnership have been successful, not only because of a shared purpose, but because of the ability to invoke change from a street level. “We have always taken pride in our communities and know that true change can only materialise on the ground and through tangible action. The RBS initiative is our action, and it is working.”

“We are continually inspired by the Alexandra township, which shows just how ready communities are to engage on fixing long-standing issues.”

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