Western Cape Government Enacts Liquor Act after Ten Years in the Making

As from Sunday, 1 April 2012, the remaining provisions of the Western Cape Liquor Act, the Western Cape Liquor Amendment Act and the Western Cape Liquor Regulations will be in effect.

Minister Winde said: "I am pleased that after ten years in the making, the Western Cape Liquor Act is now in effect. The act is the single largest intervention to reduce alcohol abuse and its related harms in our province. Through the act, we aim to reduce the number of drinking spots in residential areas. We will also be cracking down on distributors and retailers who supply the estimated 25 000 illegal shebeens currently operating in our residential communities. Under the act, they will be liable for penalties that include very heavy fines, jail terms and the seizure of assets. We will not stand idly by as alcohol continues to destroy our communities; we are taking them back from the clutches of alcohol abuse."

Minister Winde added: "We also plan to implement the "high street model", creating zones where alcohol may legally be sold and consumed. These high streets will provide secure business environments with increased lighting, policing, pedestrian walkways and partnerships with taxi associations to ensure that people drink more responsibly and get home safely."

The enactment of the Liquor Act on 1 April has a number of implications for liqour licensing in the Western Cape:

• In terms of the Western Cape Liquor Regulations, applications for new liquor licences must be lodged with the Western Cape Liquor Authority by 14:00 on the Friday preceding the first Friday of the month of April, being 27 April 2012. This day falls on a public holiday and therefore the lodgement deadline for applications with the Western Cape Liquor Authority for April 2012 will be Thursday, 26 April 2012, by 14:00. Lodgements received after this time will stand over for the following publications session by the Western Cape Liquor Authority.
• All applications lodged at magistrate courts up to the first Friday in March 2012 and received by the board over the next weeks after the due notice periods has lapsed will be dealt with and finalised in terms of the current National Liquor Act, 1989.