Issued by: Gauteng Provincial Government Communications Directorate - Office of the Premier
GAUTENG LIQUOR BOARD
Gauteng MEC for Economic Affairs and Finance, Jabu Moleketi, has called for nominations to the new Gauteng Liquor Board. Mr Moleketi said the provincial liquor board would be fully operational by December 1995 and would grant its first licences in early 1996.
"We request organisations and interested parties to nominate two representatives to the Gauteng Liquor Board. These nominations will be considered by a special committee in early December and I will appoint members immediately thereafter," Mr Moleketi said.
Mr Moleketi said the new board would be made up of five members as stipulated in the Liquor Act devolved to provinces on 4 October 1995. "We are aware the Act is inadequate and has to be completely re-written. We want to embark on this process by consulting all role players - liquor traders, producers, trade unions, civics, com- munity, welfare and other organisations. In the next 12 months, we must come up with a comprehensive policy and legislation on liquor which will meet the needs of our country now and in future. We will do this in concert with the other provinces and the national Department of Trade and Industry."
Mr Moleketi assured liquor traders and liquor licence applicants that plans to establish the Gauteng Liquor Board and its administra- tion were on schedule and that neither existing traders nor appli- cants would be disadvantaged by the transfer of liquor administra- tion from national to provincial level.
"The former national liquor board took up to 6 months to process new licence applications. We hope to better that time considerably once our Gauteng Liquor Board is functioning. We are consulting legal experts, traders and others in making our administration of liquor licences as fair, speedy and efficient as possible," said Mr Moleketi.
Until the board is established and provincial administration structures are functioning, licence administration other than the processing of new applications, will continue to be handled by the administration section of the former national liquor board at the Department of Trade and Industry in Pretoria.
Any queries in connection with these applications being processed by the national board should be directed to the liquor administration section on (012) 310-9791.
The names of the nominees to the Gauteng Liquor Board, who must have no links to the liquor trade, should be forwarded to the Minister before 30 November 1995.
Jabu Moleketi MEC for Economic Affairs and Finance Gauteng Provincial Government P O Box 62302 MARSHALLTOWN 2107
Telefax: (011) 836-8558