One does not have to look further than Roodepoort to experience the consequences of a dysfunctional Gauteng Liquor Board (GLB).
With an illegal tavern, shebeen or pub on almost every street and restaurants and pubs breaking liquor laws, it is clear that the Liquor Board is in too much of a disarray to exercise its mandate effectively and that it might have become just another failed government organisation.
The DA now has said “enough is enough”.
The DA in Gauteng will request that the provincial treasury place the Gauteng Liquor Board under administration as the chaotic state of the entity requires drastic and direct intervention, according to Dr Gavin Lewis MPL and DA Gauteng Economic Development spokesperson.
According to Lewis the DA is concerned about the Liquor Board’s “lack of accountability and the absence of any real information on its operations. Information on the board members, staffing structure and actual performance of the entity is hard to come by as public money gets siphoned off to this black hole”.
Both the Auditor General (AG) and the Gauteng Provincial Legislature Public Accounts Committee (SCOPA) have flagged serious shortcomings in the Liquor Board operations and continued reports indicate that nothing has changed.
The AG found a series of irregularities ranging from financial and performance management to leadership and governance, while SCOPA expressed concern over the deterioration of the Liquor Board and its failure to implement effective internal control systems to ensure that legislation is adhered to.
“The DA does not believe that probe after probe will address the problems that continue in this now dysfunctional liquor licensing body. The recurring issues are not addressed and because of the chaos the Liquor Board is not collecting the revenue it is meant to.
I will write to Gauteng Finance MEC Mandla Nkomfe, requesting that this entity be placed under administration to reverse the now near-four-year-long decline and chaos,” said Lewis.
