Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma might have reportedly made a U-turn regarding the transportation of alcohol during the Easter weekend.
Dlamini-Zuma had said, during a media briefing earlier on Thursday, that members of the public will not be allowed to carry alcohol in their cars over the long weekend.
“Over the weekend, the police will be doing roadblocks and stuff. [People] are not allowed to be carrying alcohol and stuff from one place to the other,” Fin24 quoted Dlamini Zuma as saying.
But according to EWN, Cogta spokesperson Lungi Mtshali later came on Talk Radio 702 to clarify, saying that people will in fact be allowed to transport their own alcohol.
“The short answer is that yes, people can transport their own alcohol even between provinces. What is prohibited during the four days of the Easter weekend is the off-site sale of alcohol, so the bottle stores will not be opened but there are restaurants and taverns that will be opened,” Mtshali was quoted as saying.
Gazetted regulations
He said there was no risk that alcohol would be confiscated.
According to IOL, Mtshali, however, said: “If you buy alcohol from a restaurant, pub, bar or shebeen and take it home, then you could get into trouble, but if you’re taking alcohol from your own house to a social event, you’re safe”.
Liquor law expert Danie Cronje had told the John Maytham Show on CapeTalk earlier that Dlamini Zuma’s initial ruling had not been in line with the gazetted regulations, the report said.
In his address to the nation on Tuesday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the sale of alcohol for off-site consumption will be prohibited over the long weekend, while on-site sales would be permitted in licensed premises until 23:00.