MEC lashes EC liquor board

She described the board as becoming a law unto itself.

The MEC accused the board of forsaking its mandate of controlling the flow of liquor in the province, which has resulted in a rise in alcohol-related crimes.

She was speaking at a crime prevention summit in Butterworth, where residents spoke of their frustration at the number of illegal shebeens operating in the area.

This, they said, resulted in a high incidence of crime which has made Butterworth one of the Eastern Cape's crime hotspots. There are currently more than 87 active illegal shebeens in Butterworth.

"Please liquor board, we are saying enough is enough.

"Stop acting as a law unto yourselves because we visit some of these shebeens and find they don't meet the required standard of the Liquor Act but they have licences," Sauls-August said at the summit, which members of the board attended.

"If liqour inspectors had really visited these outlets, they could not have issued these licences. The liquor board is not doing its work."

Sauls-August questioned the logic behind the board's issuing of liquor licences to shebeens and taverns 18 years after democracy.

As a result, the MEC said she has already started processes of amending and "beefing up" the Liquor Act as a way of combating crime.

She also hinted at elements of corruption within the board, saying most liquor outlets visited by her staff were not in line with the act.

"Yes we seriously need investment in rural areas but not alcohol investment."

Responding to the MEC's comments afterwards, senior inspector for the Eastern Cape Liquor Board Zuko Lizani said: "The MEC is a politician so I would not engage her because I don't know what the basis of her statements were."

Mnquma local municipality mayor Baba Ganjana said rising crime in the area was tarnishing government's image and negatively impacted on investor confidence.

Miranda Sinqoto, district manager of safety and liaison, said Butterworth had seen a rise in rape and murder.

Delegates at the summit concurred with Sauls-August that easy access to alcohol was a major factor in crime.

Mampondo Mbangi, a resident at Cuba location, said liquor is a big problem in his community.

"There are outlets everywhere. It's getting worse day in and day out. In the initiation periods of June and December it is a bloodbath because the youth drink and rob while under the influence. They kill each other."

Sauls-August said: "Communities should unite and petition the liquor board to shut down all illegal outlets which are a nuisance to us."

Netlain Matshini, headman in Busila village about 35km from Willowvale, asked for more police visibility.

"The police station is in Willowvale and it is far away. During pensioners' pay day, my hands are full of crime reports of youths robbing elders because of alcohol."

Cluster Commander Brigadier Mzimasi Vukani said rape cases were reported to him on a weekly basis.

"Today [Thursday] when I woke up in the morning, I received a report that a six-year-old Willowvale boy was gang raped by two other boys. It's so scary."

Source: Daily Dispatch