Liquor Bill under scrutiny as DA calls for stricter enforcement

THERE was a poor turnout to a public meeting where the proposed new liquor bill was discussed and explained on Monday, 3 August at the St James' Church.

Councillor Martin Meyer hosted the public meeting where the community was given the opportunity to engage with the proposed law, as well as with members of parliament and the provincial legislature.

“This is something we need to speak about. Public participation is not always accessible to the community, but the community needs to have a say, especially as ward 27 is plagued by problems in Florida Road, regarding the issuing and maintaining of liquor licences,” he said.

Dean Macpherson MP and Rishigen Viranna MPL spoke on the bill, and explained the DA's proposed submissions for amendments to the Act.

Macpherson said a White Paper or policy had been put in place regarding amendments to the current Liquor Act, which would be addressed in Parliament.

“There are a number of loopholes in the Liquor Act which the DA has identified and will make a number of proposals. We have recognised there are social problems such as crime and grime relating to alcohol use, and we are addressing this through the amendment bill. We need to centralise the standardisation of licences and feel the municipality needs to be more involved in standardising and issuing licences to businesses,” he said.

Macpherson said SAPS was responsible for the enforcement of the Act, however officers rarely knew what they could do under the Liquor Act.

“We feel the enforcement should be divulged to Metro Police, traffic officers and peace officers, which would show better results. Enforcement needs to take place on a broader scale,” he said.

He aslo called for harsher penalties for those who continually flout restrictions, and said the DA would be proposing a three strike policy in this regard.

“The issue of cost recovery is something else we will be proposing. We feel social costs regarding incidents (sin taxes) should not fall on the taxpayer. Businesses also need to be more responsible. When the smoking law was introduced, people acted against smokers smoking outside entrances to shops and ensured the law was enforced. We need to have this with liquor, where barmen stop serving alcohol to intoxicated people,” he said.

Macpherson said there would be a push in future for there to be more inspectors in the province.

Viranna, who sits on the portfolio committee for safety and security in the provincial legislature, said crime stat figures are telling, and where liquor-related crime played a role, the numbers were rising, such as common assault, sexual assault, drinking and driving and drug use.

“The police are trying to keep up, but irresponsible use as a result of businesses serving alcohol is out of hand. More people need to be mandated to enforce the law, as enforcement is a priority, especially in Florida Road where public drinking is an issue,” he said.

He said the portfolio committee was engaging on the issue to put a submission in the amendment to include public drinking.

The DA's Chief Whip in the National Assembly, John Steenhuisen MP, said he was concerned that the City Manager made 'blase' comments regarding the merger of the SAPS and Metro Police.

“This is a problem. It would be a step backwards for Durban to lose Metro Police. We can't afford to lose the by-law enforcement role of Metro Police,” he said.

The DA's submission will be released to the public by 13 August.