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The Democratic Alliance hopes to see more raids on unlicensed taverns
being conducted this weekend. The first port of call should be an
unlicensed tavern operating with impunity in Boichoko, Postmasburg.

The unlicensed tavern operates next to a licensed tavern, which has
caused the licensed tavern to collapse. The Northern Cape Liquor Board
is fully aware of the unlicensed tavern, but has failed to act. The
owner of the unlicensed tavern is said to be politically connected to
the ANC.

We welcome the raids that were undertaken last weekend by the Northern
Cape Liquor Board in conjunction with the department of Trade and
Industry and the police. It is unfair to law-abiding citizens who pay
their fees and comply with liquor laws when unlicensed taverns are
allowed to operate freely.

But we cannot have raids only when national departments are here.
Compliance with liquor laws and regulations must be promoted
throughout the year.

Yet the Northern Cape Liquor Board fails to ensure that there is
regular compliance and enforcement campaigns in the province. It is
the industry standard that a liquor outlet must be visited four to six
times. So if you look at the 489 liquor licenses awarded in 2013/14,
there should have been at between 1 956 and 2 934 inspections at
licensed taverns only. The Liquor Board only conducted 1 902
compliance inspections.

A lack of funding is often used to excuse underperformance. The Liquor
Board received R1.3 million less for the 2015/16 financial year than
for the 2014/15 financial year. We are likely to hear again that a
lack of financial resources is the reason why more compliance
inspections will not be conducted. We cannot accept this excuse. The
Liquor Board must be capacitated to fulfil its functions properly.

For far too long, the Northern Cape Liquor Board has been acting like
a rubberstamping rather than a regulatory entity. It has especially
lacked the capacity to monitor the occasional liquor licenses that
have been granted.

Those who sell liquor illegally must know that they will be caught and
that there will be consequences for failure to abide by the law.

Issued by DA