The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Northern Cape finds it disheartening that premier Zamani Saul declared during a sitting of the Northern Cape Provincial Legislature on Thursday 23 April that he was not aware of the Northern Cape High Court judgement declaring that provincial liquor laws are unconstitutional and invalid.
The premier was cited as the third respondent in this court case and is one of the four respondents ordered to pay costs for the litigation. It seems somewhat unlikely that any respondent would only learn of this judgement a week later at a different forum, especially considering the significant attention that the matter enjoyed.
This indifference does not bode well for the provincial response to alcohol-related crime and community harm. While we wait for the Constitutional Court to confirm the declaration of unconstitutionality, the DA demands that a few simple steps must be taken:
• The provincial government must clarify the legal status, trading hours, and operating hours of all liquor traders and outlets;
• There must be adequate public participation in the adjudication of license applications, so that communities can have their say about taverns and nightclubs in their neighbourhoods;
• SAPS needs to be properly capacitated to regulate the industry, to shut down unlicensed outlets, to close nightclubs operating beyond their operating hours, and to charge those providing alcohol to minors.
Victims of alcohol-related crimes cannot wait for the premier to find his paperwork before the provincial government takes decisive action to improve community safety. For as long as alcohol abuse drives crime in the Northern Cape, the DA will continue to fight for safe, socially responsible regulation of the provincial liquor industry.