Western Cape residents may need to brace themselves, as tighter liquor laws may be on the cards after the province’s executive council officially approved the drafting of amendments to the current Liquor Act, reports IOL.

This comes after Premier Alan Winde responded to a question posed by ANC finance and economics spokesperson Noami Nkondlo who questioned the hold-up in amending the current Liquor Act. Although no exact date was provided, Winde did inform MPLs that the process of getting the measures to the relevant parties should only take “a good couple of weeks.”

Responding to Nkondlo, Winde stated that by the time Covid-19 numbers have declined, they would be able to bring the legislature for public participation.

“It’s probably going to take a good couple of weeks to get the drafting finalised, and hopefully by the time we’ve seen some decline in those Covid-19 numbers, we’ll be able to bring it to the legislature for public participation.”

With South Africa firmly in its third wave, many have called for tighter restrictions on alcohol, including the Southern African Alcohol Policy Alliance, reports EWN. However, the organisation isn’t the only one worried about the overburdening of the healthcare system due to alcohol-related emergencies. 

“During the first and second wave we noted a drastic decrease in alcohol-related emergency cases when a curfew and ban on the sale of alcohol were imposed. This reduction freed all resources to the management and control of Covid-19 cases,” ANC provincial health spokesperson Rachel Windvogel said in a statement. 

“We are not as the ANC suggesting going back to the prohibition days, but we are saying there are clear measures that can be put in place to help combat youth alcoholism and other challenges that we are facing,” she continued.

Picture: Cape Town ETC Gallery

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