MBOMBELA – Mr Angelo Sebastian, acting chief executive of the Mpumalanga Liquor Authority has announced that liquor stores must obtain permission from their local municipalities before they can sell alcohol on Sundays.
Lowvelder recently reported on confusion surrounding the new Mpumalanga Liquor Act which came into effect on August 30. According to the annexures of the legislation, liquor may be sold for consumption off the premises from 10:00 to 17:00 on Sundays.
Sebastian explains that this is in line with national norms and standards. The provincial liquor authority must approve it in writing for existing licence holders, but the municipality must first approve it.
New applicants must also start with the municipality in which they are planning to sell. If the application is denied, an appeal can be lodged to the municipality, as the liquor authority will not consider any application that has been denied by the municipality.
“We respect their jurisdiction. They have integrated development plans, they know how they are planning to develop a town. They know where all the schools and churches are,” he said.
An applicant must also advertise his or her intention to open a liquor store in a local newspaper and the Government Gazette. “We can’t just deny someone a licence. The freedom to trade and the right to enterprise are enshrined in the constitution. If the public don’t want a bottle store they can object to it.”
Advertising this intention to start trading more widely will thus increase the public’s knowledge thereof. Sebastian adds that a lot of people think it isn’t right to allow liquor trade on Sundays, but he disagrees.
“It makes policing easier. SAPS don’t have to sit outside the taverns where everybody knows they can buy on a Sunday. It is illegal for them to sell liquor for consumption off the premises. And they overcharge – they sell a bottle by the tots. At 30 tots to a bottle they can charge an exorbitant amount.”
He says they receive about 30 applications for licences in a month from the whole province, and they allow trading to start later than in other provinces. “We want people to go to church first,” Sebastian says.
“It is important that liquor outlets adhere to the law because the enforcement of the new legislation is going to be very transparent and vigorous.”
