{"id":10337,"date":"2022-07-14T13:26:20","date_gmt":"2022-07-14T13:26:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/govt-abandons-proposed-liquor-law-amendments"},"modified":"2022-07-14T13:42:24","modified_gmt":"2022-07-14T13:42:24","slug":"govt-abandons-proposed-liquor-law-amendments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/govt-abandons-proposed-liquor-law-amendments","title":{"rendered":"Gov\u2019t abandons proposed liquor law amendments"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Botswana. <\/strong><\/span>Government has abandoned plans to implement changes in the liquor act which would increase alcohol accessibility by allowing business outlets such as fuel stations and supermarkets to trade.<\/b><\/p>\n

Last year government embarked on a nationwide consultation with various stakeholders including community leaders and alcohol bodies to share their views on the matter.<\/p>\n

The Minister of Trade and Industry Mmusi Kgafela said that even though he intends to table a new bill before Parliament next month, it will not cover changes which sought to give fuel stations and supermarkets a leeway to sell alcohol.<\/p>\n

He indicated that in their consultations it has proven that councilors for instance were opposed to the idea citing that the industry is already dominated by few people who also own fuel stations and supermarkets.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was told that there is a general voice in the community that when alcohol is more accessible, the less it gets abused, that was what I was told which I am not equipped to say if it is correct or incorrect.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople further on to advocate for the flexibility of liquor trading hours and some people also suggesting that the sector should be liberalized as much as possible,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Kgafela highlighted that bar owners also opposed the idea on the basis that it will drive more customers to the unusual places such as fuel stations.<\/p>\n

He stated that there has always been complaints from bar owners that business is slow something which prompted government to restrict consumers from directly buying alcohol from wholesalers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are so many complaints within the industry because there is also an outcry about bottle stores being owned by one individual and that is why I also intend to start discussions around that area,\u201d added Kgafela.<\/p>\n

He said government will continue to ensure that Batswana are not disadvantaged in doing business adding that it is the sole responsibility of government to ensure that the business environment becomes friendly to them.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are continuously reviewing the act so that Batswana do not feel left out in the business sector and I can assure you that other complaints they have highlighted will be attended to soon,\u201d said Kgafela.<\/p>\n

He said it would not be ideal to impose any bill on locals considering how much they suffered during the last 18 months.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am sure you are aware that liquor outlets especially suffered a great deal at the height of Covid-19 and it is only right that we ensure that the environment is conducive for them to pick profits,\u201d said Kgafela.<\/p>\n

Recently Botswana Alcohol Industry Association (BAIA) Spokesperson Jacob Sesinyi said it is a controversial issue, saying that government has already consulted them.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have met with government officials on the issue and there were mixed views on it but the bottom line is that the government proposed amendment will give customers convenience to buy anytime\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cSelling of alcohol in petrol stations and supermarkets is nothing new, it is even there in South Africa, so those with better financial muscle will be catered for,\u201d said Sesinyi.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, Botswana Beverages Association (BOBA) opposed the initiative saying that there are people who do not want to go into places where liquor is sold especially minors.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Botswana<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Botswana. Government has abandoned plans to implement changes in the liquor act which would increase alcohol accessibility by allowing business outlets such as fuel stations and supermarkets to trade. Last year government embarked on a nationwide consultation with various stakeholders including community leaders and alcohol bodies to share their views on the matter. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":10336,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,5,8,16],"tags":[233,237,234],"class_list":["post-10337","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-economy","category-homepage-english","category-twitter","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-botswana","tag-botswana"],"yoast_head":"\nGov\u2019t abandons proposed liquor law amendments - Botswana<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Government has abandoned plans to implement changes in the liquor act which would increase alcohol accessibility by a ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/govt-abandons-proposed-liquor-law-amendments\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gov\u2019t abandons proposed liquor law amendments\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Government has abandoned plans to implement changes in the liquor act which would increase alcohol accessibility by a ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/govt-abandons-proposed-liquor-law-amendments\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Botswana\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-07-14T13:26:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-07-14T13:42:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2022\/07\/postQueueImg_9-62d01d18dd9e8.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"696\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"464\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/govt-abandons-proposed-liquor-law-amendments#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/govt-abandons-proposed-liquor-law-amendments\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Gov\u2019t abandons proposed liquor law amendments\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-07-14T13:26:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-07-14T13:42:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/govt-abandons-proposed-liquor-law-amendments\"},\"wordCount\":555,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/govt-abandons-proposed-liquor-law-amendments#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/botswana\/sites\/38\/2022\/07\/postQueueImg_9-62d01d18dd9e8.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Botswana\",\"Botswana\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"economy\",\"homepage-english\",\"twitter\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/govt-abandons-proposed-liquor-law-amendments#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/govt-abandons-proposed-liquor-law-amendments\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/botswana\/all-news\/govt-abandons-proposed-liquor-law-amendments\",\"name\":\"Gov\u2019t abandons proposed liquor law amendments - 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