Lesufi’s double-edged sword: Janus or Jester?

The Roman God of doorways and gates, Janus, is depicted with two heads.

We wonder if the same might be a good caricature of Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi – either because his populist rhetoric has two faces… or because he doesn’t know whether he is coming or going.

Lesufi has, in one of his personalities, been a staunch opponent of booze, claiming it is the root of all evil in society.

In furtherance of this principled stand, he announced this week the Gauteng government would be issuing no new liquor licences, because it wants to clean up society.

ALSO READ: Lesufi plays the ‘out of context’ card

Fair enough. But hardly had news organisations finished recording that, than the premier was meeting Dutch beer giant Heineken to unveil a plan to “launch taverns of the future in our communities…”

Thanks to the vision of this epitome of white capital, the new watering holes will “blow your mind”, Lesufi gushed.

What are the terms of the deal? Has Heineken been given a monopoly of beer supply? Has the beer giant seen the playing field forcibly “unlevelled” with potential competitors being removed because they won’t be given licences? What about small back businesses – licenced or not – which are built around tavern operations?

We wonder if Lesufi’s new lager mentality will go flat soon…

ALSO READ: Lesufi apologises, seeks meeting with minister ‘to clear the air and make amends’