More than 60 liquor outlets fined for non-compliance
A joint inspection by officials from the department of trade and industry, (DTI), SAPS, Limpopo Liquor Board and Community Police Forums saw more than 60 liquor outlets bosses fined R16 500 for non-compliance in Tzaneen yesterday
LIMPOPO – One liquor outlet closed down, six people were arrested for possession of dagga, four were charged and arrested for drinking and driving and more than 500 patrons were searched in liquor outlets.
More than 60 outlets ranging from taverns, restaurants, distributors and manufacturers were raided in Tzaneen, Maake, Bolobedu, Letsitele, Lenyeye, Letabe, Ntsako village, Modjadjieskloof and surrounding areas were fined.
The chief director of the National Liquor Authority at DTI, Prea Ramdhuny, said the operation was meant to enforce compliance with the National Liquor Act, and to address the increasing number of under-age drinking, non-adherence to licence conditions, trading hours and enforce compliance by liquor traders and distributors.
“Most outlets that were given compliance notices and fine failed to adhere to the stipulated conditions of their licences and to produce relevant documents as prescribed by law,” said Ramdhuny.
Ramdhuny further said licence holders needed to be constantly educated on the Liquor Act in order to comply and avoid irresponsible trading.
The operational commander of the Tzaneen SAPS cluster, Lt Col Moatshe Ngoepe said alcohol was still one of the crime generators in the country.
He said in most cases, it led to other crimes such as murder, rape, assault and robberies.
“These raids assist us in visiting the hotpots that we normally get complaints from and where most of these crimes are taking place. In most cases kids are exposed to this kind of behaviour as they observe and experience the unruly behaviour in their communities,” said Ngoepe.
The director for compliance at the Limpopo Liquor Board, Dion Palser, said he welcomed the raids in different parts of the province as they would make their work easy in identifying the problematic areas and outlets as pointed out by the police.
Palser said the board wants liquor traders to comply, trade responsibly and avoid a situation where their licences were revoked. Common contraventions were hotels and restaurants operating as taverns, patrons drinking outside the liquor premises, failure to display original licence, effecting structural alterations without prior approval of the board, trading beyond stipulated trading hours, selling take away while in possession of an on-consumption licence, and selling liquor to minors.
