Liquor board backtracks on special licences for ANC birthday weekend
The Gauteng Liquor Board says it will no longer offer special licences allowing certain liquor traders to extend their hours over the weekend of the ANC’s 105th birthday bash.
The plan was first announced on Monday, where traders could apply for the special licences. The board saw the weekend as an economic opportunity for the province, and says that it had received over 1,000 applications for the licence.
However, following criticism of the move – as well as every application failing to meet the necessary requirements to acquire the licence – the board has now reversed the decision.
The board said that it considered “feedback from the public and other key stakeholders”‚ and consulted with Gauteng MEC for Economic Development Lebogang Maile‚ in reversing the decision.
The decision to extend trading hours was criticised on the basis that it was seen as promoting drinking and the subsequent lawlessness that follows. One of the biggest critics of the move was the ANC Women’s League, which said that the decision tarnished the name of the ANC.
Maile, meanwhile, has taken full responsibility for the proposal, and said that the ANC as a whole should not be blamed.
According to the Liquor Board, liquor stores and traders must operate in typical business hours, and law enforcement should execute its duties accordingly.
Read: Special licences granted to booze it up over the ANC birthday weekend
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