MEC says alcohol abuse, crime linked but regulation and technology will tackle the issue

Police Oversight and Community Safety MEC Reagen Allen plays a game of pool at Sundowners in Bellville on Wednesday. Allen visited liquor licence holders who were among the first to renew their licence online via the newly launched eLicence Portal. The owners of taverns, shebeens and previously illicit bars and clubs will soon be able to apply for new liquor licences through the online portal. Picture: Armand Hough/African News Agency (ANA)

Police Oversight and Community Safety MEC Reagen Allen plays a game of pool at Sundowners in Bellville on Wednesday. Allen visited liquor licence holders who were among the first to renew their licence online via the newly launched eLicence Portal. The owners of taverns, shebeens and previously illicit bars and clubs will soon be able to apply for new liquor licences through the online portal. Picture: Armand Hough/African News Agency (ANA)

Published Nov 24, 2022

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Cape Town - Western Cape Police Oversight and Community Safety MEC Reagen Allen says the connection between alcohol abuse and crime is irrefutable and the province will be using more effective regulation to tackle the problem.

“We have seen there is a direct link between alcohol abuse and crime. Every study has consistently shown this.”

Criminals and gangsters would now come up against a number of stakeholders in the safety space, including law enforcement and the different spheres of government, he said.

“These are working together to tackle organised crime and to eradicate it from our communities.”

Allen was speaking during a whistle-stop tour of liquor outlets in Hermanus, Somerset West and Bellville. He said the Western Cape Liquor Authority (WCLA) was now in a position to tackle alcohol-related harms and regulate liquor more effectively using technology and data.

The new system, launched in October, would lead to safer communities.

The point of the visit was to congratulate the first three liquor licence holders in the province to renew their licences online via the newly launched eLicence Portal.

The three outlets were Barney’s Taverna in Hermanus, the Lord Charles Hotel in Somerset West and Sundowners in Bellville’s industrial area, Stikland.

The eLicence Portal is an initiative of the WCLA, an entity of the Community Safety department, and is supported by the Department of Economic Development and Tourism’s Ease of Doing Business unit.

Speaking at Sundowners in Bellville, Allen said the launch of the portal was significant as a major step forward in the digital transformation journey of the WCLA.

“The liquor authority must be commended for being innovative and adopting technology to make the licensing processes easier for traders.”

Accompanying Allen was WCLA chief financial officer Sandiso Gcwabe, who said: “Through the development of its online client services platform, the WCLA aims to improve its efficiency and accessibility, while creating value for its stakeholders.”

Sandiso Gcwabe, CFO of the Western Cape Liquor Authority with Police Oversight and Community Safety MEC Reagen Allen visited liquor licence holders who were among the first to renew their licence online via the newly launched eLicence Portal. Sundowners in Bellville’s industrial area, Stikland was among those licence holders. Picture: Armand Hough/African News Agency (ANA)

Asked how the WCLA could battle alcohol harms and earn revenue at the same time, Gcwabe said more efficient regulation would ensure public interest was prioritised to reduce the impact of alcohol on communities, while enabling sustainable businesses.

He said licence holders would from now on be able to manage their licence online, process licence renewals online and download a confirmation of renewal document.

“The next phase of the project will be launched by April 1 next year and will introduce the option to lodge licence applications online. Ultimately, all of this forms part of effective and efficient regulation of liquor in the Western Cape,” Gcwabe said.

Anthony Gielink, who has run Sundowners for the past 11 years, said he found the system easy to use: “It worked for me just great.”

mwangi.githahu@inl.co.za