Up in arms: Controversial liquor act sparks panic in Limpopo

Panic has set in among restaurant owners and liquor traders in Limpopo as the controversial Limpopo Liquor Act of 2009 is set to come into effect today.

In terms of the Act, there will be a ban on alcohol sales after midnight.

The Act is marred by controversy after it was met with outrage from consumers, restaurant owners, nightclubs and the National Liquor Traders Association.

They have all called for the department to reverse the decision. The Limpopo department of economic development, environment and tourism is planning to implement the law from today, but it is uncertain if this will happen because the National Liquor Traders Association has lodged an urgent court application to interdict its implementation.

The matter will be heard at the Limpopo High Court in Polokwane next Tuesday.

READ: Alcohol curfew: New ‘Midnight Law’ to impact Limpopo’s nightlife

The association is pleading with the Limpopo MEC for economic development, environment and tourism, Rodgers Monama, to prevent the Act from being implemented today.

But he is adamant that the ban will kick in today.

“This is a law that was passed years ago,” he said. “It was passed by the Limpopo Legislature after consultations and calls for public hearings in all the province’s five regions.

“Some of us were not there at the time of the passing of this Act, We therefore can’t illegitimise something that was passed when we were not there. Moreover, when this law was passed, there were no objections. The police said they were traumatised by the escalating statistics of crime in the province after midnight.

“The health department said it was encountering an increase in teenage pregnancies, gender-based violence and other social ills due to alcohol,” said Monama.

“The education department said children had difficulties studying at night as some liquor outlets were adjacent to their schools and homes, while mothers also wanted their husbands at home before midnight.

“The department had to go ahead with the implementation of the Act because we have done all that was necessary… but our doors are always open for further deliberations on the matter.

“Whoever has a problem can always come to us and we will give them a hearing,” he said.

Tzaneen businessman Billy Madlesa Modike of the Madlesa Liquor Restaurant in Bolobedu’s Modubung village near Kgapane said the law was controversial and needed to be nullified as a matter of urgency.

“The department is not taking us seriously. Alcohol sales are a booming business in our communities. It thrives mostly in black communities and these two hours are robbing us of a good profit,” he said.

Modike said he will lose between R60 000 – R80 000 in two hours on a Saturday or Sunday.

“First, it was a national shutdown caused by Covid, then load shedding and now they are taking two hours away from us,” he said.

Modike said the two hours also forced businesses to cut down on staff members, including security personnel.

“We usually employ additional staff and security personnel on weekends.

“The introduction of this ban will mean more job losses and who will be the most affected? It will be our own black sisters and brothers who depend on taverns, shebeens and pubs to put bread on the table for their families,” said Modike.

“This is not a war. All we are asking from the MEC and his boss, premier Stan Mathabatha, is that they must put the interests of the black man ahead of their own because if the Act is implemented, joblessness and suffering will be the order of the day in Limpopo.”

Businessman Lebenga Charles Khumalo of Khumza Pub and Grill in Tzaneen said the Act favoured white-owned businesses and not those owned by blacks.

“Liquor stores in towns usually operate during the day while those owned by Africans operate mostly at night,” he said.

READ: Liquor traders meet with Limpopo MEC over new alcohol curfew