As part of strengthening responsible liquor trading, another Liquor Traders’ Workshop will be conducted for Nkomazi Local Municipality this week. The first two workshops so far were held in Mbombela and Steve Tshwete local municipalities. Among issues raised was noise pollution which often affected the well-being of residents near those establishments.

Others complained about littering saying that owners of these drinking holes should take more control and ensure that their patrons do not litter or obstruct traffic by parking their vehicles in such a way that they disrupt traffic flow.

It was also alleged that other establishments opened beyond normal trading hours and this lead to people drinking alcohol until the early hours of the morning. Proliferation of drugs particularly Nyaope was allegedly also an issue at some of the liquor outlets.

Other issues that came under the spotlight during these workshops were allegations of corruption by officials who are tasked with processing of trading licenses. It was also indicated that some local traders’ applications or updates took longer to be finalised.

Economic Development and Tourism MEC Eric Kholwane who spoke during one of the workshops in Middelburg last week called on MLA officials to treat all applications equally and he further encouraged communities to report any corrupt tendencies.

On the other hand, Community Safety, Security and Liaison MEC Pat Ngomane reiterated his pleas to liquor traders to work within ambit of the law saying they needed to understand the impact of irresponsible trading of crime prevention and road safety efforts by government.

During the workshops liquor traders were encouraged to trade responsibly and also ensure they do not make alterations to their establishments without MLA’s knowledge as this may affect the validity of their trading licenses. They were also urged to ensure that their establishments have adequate ablution facilities.

This week’s workshop in Nkomazi is planned as follows:

Date: Thursday, 18 May 2017
Time: 10:00
Venue: Schoemansdal Community Hall

Enquiries: Joseph Mabuza / Community safety, security & Liaison - MP
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