“The urgent need to clamp down on illicit liquor products”
Op-Ed in SABC News by Mbongeni Shabangu, director responsible for law enforcement and compliance at the Gauteng Liquor Board:
“In recent years, the proliferation of illicit liquor products has become a significant concern for both public health and the economy. The unchecked spread of these illegal beverages poses a grave threat to our society, and it is imperative that we take decisive action to address this issue. …
“At the recent awareness and training workshop of all relevant liquor industry stakeholders, conducted by the Gauteng Liquor Board (GLB), in conjunction with the Drinks Federation South Africa (DF-SA) and the South African Brandowners Association (SALBA), it became evident that some of the biggest obstacles to successful and sustainable convictions lied in fragmented enforcement operations, and outdated and inconsistent regulatory frameworks. …
“In addition, the government should consider implementing measures to make legitimate liquor products more accessible and affordable. This could involve reducing taxes on legal beverages or providing subsidies to licensed producers, thereby narrowing the price gap between legal and illegal options.”
Assessment
The op-ed is authored by Mbongeni Shabangu, director responsible for law enforcement and compliance at the Gauteng Liquor Board (GLB), the provincial regulatory authority under the Gauteng Liquor Act tasked with overseeing liquor licensing, compliance, and enforcement in South Africa’s most populous province. The Board’s mandate, at least on paper, is to ensure “ethical governance of the liquor trade” and “protect public interests” across licensing and compliance functions.
However, the workshop cited in the piece was conducted jointly with prominent alcohol industry front groups, including the Drinks Federation South Africa (DF-SA) and the South African Liquor Brandowners Association (SALBA). DF-SA explicitly positions itself as the “unified voice of the alcohol industry,” bringing together multinational alcohol producers. Leadership roles within DF-SA include senior executives from global alcohol giants, such as Anheuser-Busch InBev (through South African Breweries) and Heineken subsidiaries, and other multinational firms such as Pernod Ricard. SALBA represents manufacturers and distributors, coordinating alcohol industry positions on excise and regulatory matters and emphasising its role in combatting illicit trade – but importantly, on terms defined by alcohol industry stakeholders, not the public interest and common good.
The recommendation to make legal alcohol “more accessible and affordable” is shocking. It echoes longstanding alcohol industry claims aimed at expanding market conditions favourable to multinational alcohol giants.
Evidence underscores that illicit markets are shaped mainly by enforcement capacity, regulatory coherence, and effective tax administration. Proposals that shift the focus toward affordability and expanding legal availability serve alcohol industry interests while doing nothing to dismantle the structural drivers of illicit alcohol trade.
The proposal is deeply problematic because South Africa’s alcohol burden is driven by population-level alcohol consumption fueled by marketing, availability, and affordability.
For alcohol policy advocates, the key takeaway is the need to explicitly call out the self-interest and conflicts of interest at the heart of this proposal, workshop, and debate. When alcohol industry front groups and lobbyists representing multinational alcohol corporations with direct commercial stakes in alcohol sales in South Africa are positioned as “partners” in defining solutions, policy proposals predictably shift toward greater availability and affordability.
Addressing illicit alcohol effectively requires insulating enforcement and tax policy from industry influence, strengthening regulatory independence, and prioritising measures that protect communities and public revenue.