Good news from Western Cape Liquor Conference minutes

Wednesday, 5 October, 2011
Cluver Markotter Inc
The minutes of the third Annual Western Cape Provincial Liquor Conference held on the 9th of September were released last week.
The report back on the discussion on the proposed ban of alcohol advertising confirms that further research needs to be conducted in South Africa in order to make informed decisions on mechanisms for combating alcohol abuse including banning or restricting advertising.

The Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Tourism in the Western Cape, Mr Allan Winde stated that there should be more frequent engagement between Government and stakeholders in the liquor industry.

He announced that four quarterly meetings will be scheduled for this purpose with the first to take place in December 2011.

The agenda for this meeting includes the monitoring and evaluation of the Western Cape Liquor Act and the proposed implementation plan for the Act.

According to Danie Cronjé, the Director of Liquor Law Services at Cluver Markotter Incorporated, this may provide an opportunity for roleplayers in the wine industry to address remaining concerns regarding the Western Cape Liquor Act.

Such issues would include the problems with obtaining liquor licenses for tourist facilities on wine farms where on- and off-consumption wine sales take place in close vicinity to each other as well as the problems expected with determination of trading days and hours by municipalities.

According to Cronjé the agenda also refers to report back on the progress of municipalities and their proposed by-laws on trading hours and days.

He confirms that enquiries made to various municipalities indicate that many municipalities are not even aware of their responsibility in this regard in terms of the Western Cape Liquor Act.