The transportation of alcohol on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays will not result in arrest, despite earlier warnings that this was in contravention of the National Disaster Act.
As reported by TimesLIVE, a “stern warning” was issued by Brigadier Vish Naidoo mere days ago, saying that anyone caught transporting alcohol after 5pm on Thursdays and before 9am on Mondays will be in violation of the National Disaster Act.
“Between Monday at 9am and Thursday at 5pm is the only time people are allowed to purchase and transport alcohol for their personal use,” Naidoo said. “Any other time beyond that will be a contravention of the regulations. People must be warned.”
An exception was made for licensed alcohol traders, who were allowed to transport alcohol on the weekend but not sell it.
This rule is no longer a crime. According to liquor law specialist attorney Danie Cronje, Naidoo has since retracted his statement. Members of the public are now discouraged from transporting alcohol outside the permitted sale hours.
“We can confirm that Naidoo said it is not an offence for members of the public to transport liquor on any day or at any time,” he said via LinkdIn. “Naidoo stated that members of the public are not encouraged to transport liquor during times when liquor may not be purchased as this opens the risk for dealing in liquor outside the prescribed times, but he emphasised that it is not a crime for a member of the public to transport liquor outside these hours.”
Any person who has questions regarding the above is welcome to contact Danie Cronje on 082 772 3517.
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