That's the message according to research released last week by Econometrix. The results show that a ban on alcohol advertising would cost nearly 12,000 jobs and almost R1.8bn in tax revenue.

The government has, as expected, dismissed the findings as one-sided etc, but one has to ask whether the full implications of banning alcohol advertising, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi's latest target, have been properly thought through.

Econometrix senior economist Rob Jeffrey said his research also revealed that there was no statistical relationship in South Africa between advertising expenditure and the consumption of alcohol.

Also on the government beat, the SA government wants an investigation into spy allegations made by a UK newspaper, which claims that SA delegates were among those who attended the 2009 Group 20 meeting who were put under surveillance.

The poorest of the poor are the first to suffer when food prices rise and now Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Tina Joemat Pettersson says high prices are a threat to food security. Dead right - so what about doing whatever possible to not only keep commercial farmers on the land, stop landing them with wage bills they cannot sustain, and generally ensuring that we produce food here, rather than have to import it - because the latter will cost a great deal more.

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Rod Baker, Content Director

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