Illicit alcohol trade, fueled by the countries alcohol bans

Research recently released by the alcohol industry has shown rampant growth in the illicit alcohol trade, fueled by the countries alcohol bans.

A statement by Lucky Ntimane, convener of the National Liquor Traders Council, said the research only illustrates the “disastrous consequences of poorly considered policy choices by government”.

He said this forced consumers to buy from previously unheard of sources, while the legal industry was shut down by the government.

According to Ntimane, almost 20 weeks of alcohol bans since the onset of Covid-19, has seen the illicit alcohol trade now accounting for 20 per cent of the alcohol market.

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This has grown at a compound annual growth rate of 17% per cent since 2017, according to research by Euromonitor.

“This is going to be a massive headache for our law enforcement agencies for years to come.

“Illicit traders are now embedded in communities, with sophisticated supply and distribution networks. They are not going anywhere, even when all the restrictions on the alcohol trade are over,” said Ntimane.

“This has serious long-term consequences for the legal sector, which has lost ground to the criminal networks, as well as for the under-resourced police and SARS, which has already lost R11,3 billion in uncollected taxes thanks to the illicit trade.

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“Banning alcohol as a way of dealing with Covid-19 is a futile exercise because it doesn’t stop people drinking, it just forces them to buy on the underground market.”

Ntimane appealed to government in the statement to work with us on practical solutions that will help to manage the Covid-19 pandemic effectively, instead of causing untold damage to legal township business men and women whose only sin is that they comply with the laws of the country.

“Let’s learn the lessons of the HIV pandemic – we didn’t bring it under control by policing promiscuity. We worked together as a society, including government, civil society, business and community leaders, to empower people with the information they needed to make smart choices.

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“With compliance fatigue creeping in as the third wave of Covid-19 accelerates, and a huge job to be done to encourage people to get vaccinated, we really need to work together again to communicate effectively and mobilise the whole of society to defeat Covid,” Ntimane said.

“Heavy handed measures like prohibition are not a sustainable solution and now we have seen the disastrous unintended consequences with a runaway illicit trade taking over the market.

“These unscrupulous operators don’t abide by any regulations, let alone Covid-19 safety protocols,” said Ntimane.

“Banning alcohol has not helped to slow Covid-19, it has just accelerated the illicit trade. With one of the strictest lockdowns in the world, South Africa still has one of the highest death rates.

“It’s time for a different approach,” he said.