Cape Town – The DG Murray Trust (DGMT) is urging South African provinces to restrict alcohol sales for on-site consumption to midnight, warning that extended trading hours could worsen binge drinking, violence and alcohol-related health problems.
According to Business Day, the civil society organisation is taking its fight to the Constitutional Court next month, seeking confirmation of a ruling that invalidated parts of the Northern Cape’s 2024 Gambling and Liquor Act over inadequate public consultation.
The legislation had allowed licensed bars, taverns and other venues serving alcohol for consumption on their premises to trade until 6am on six days of the week. The Northern Cape High Court ruled against the legislation earlier this year, finding that the public participation process was constitutionally defective.
DGMT argues that extending liquor trading hours, particularly late at night and into the early morning, increases the risk of heavy drinking and its associated social and economic costs.
Wider government efforts
“DGMT’s position is that liquor trading hours should be determined by evidence of what reduces alcohol-related harm, rather than primarily by the commercial interests of the liquor industry,” said Kashifa Ancer, campaign manager of the organisation’s Rethink Your Drink campaign, as quoted by Business Day.
The organisation supports midnight as the latest closing time for establishments selling alcohol for on-site consumption. It also wants Sunday sales restricted at outlets selling alcohol for consumption elsewhere.
The campaign comes amid wider government efforts to curb alcohol-related harm. In February, President Cyril Ramaphosa called on provincial governments to strengthen liquor regulation by limiting outlet density, restricting trading hours and ending the sale of alcohol in large containers, according to SAnews.
DGMT has also called for minimum unit pricing, which would establish a minimum price for a standard drink to make cheap, high-strength alcohol less affordable to heavy drinkers.
The debate places public health concerns against the economic interests of the liquor industry, which supports hundreds of thousands of jobs. The Constitutional Court’s decision could have implications for liquor-trading regulations beyond the Northern Cape, as provinces consider changes to their own laws.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
