Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu has acknowledged the message of the 7th Bi-Annual Global Alcohol Policy Conference (GAPC) to pass the Liqour Amendment Bill.
“I hear you and that is the message “Pass the Liqour Amendment Bill now.” From the department of Social Development and all other government people that are here, [we] take note of what has been brought to us here. This is a positive message and a message that says to us we must listen when you stand up to talk to us.
"Let us make the 7th Bi-Annual Global Alcohol Policy Conference remarkable by accomplishing the things we collectively pledged to achieve and for collective action to put the needs of the world’s most vulnerable citizens ahead of profit,” Minister Zulu said.
The Minister was delivering the keynote opening remarks on the occasion of the 7th GAPC held in Cape Town on Tuesday.
GAPC is the leading forum for the world’s alcohol policy makers, advocates, researchers, civil society activists and practitioners.
The official launch was hosted by the Minister and attended by congregants from over 50 countries around the globe. Some of the key concerns that stood out from some speeches from keynote speakers, were the fact that profits are being put ahead of lives.
Zulu emphasised that the country’s approach to alcohol policy has to shift from one where the objectives revolve around economic growth to the interest of public health, with specific focus on reducing alcohol-related harms.
“I hope the conference will be an important turning point that will provide impetus for the much-needed focus on the World Health Organisation’s Global Strategy to Reduce the Harmful Use of Alcohol.
Draft Policy on the Prevention of and Treatment for Substance Use Disorders
The Minister said that the conference came at a perfect time after a month of government tabling the Draft Policy on the Prevention of and Treatment for Substance Use Disorders to Cabinet for public consultation.
The policy provides a framework for decision-making within the whole sector about where the greatest drug-related harms are occurring, and identifying the best means to address those harms.
“We are pleased that Cabinet approved the Policy for public consultation and recommended the establishment of a special committee of Cabinet Ministers to ensure coordination, strategic alignment and decision making in harm prevention and reduction strategies across government.
“I am therefore confident that this policy conference under the theme ‘Investing in People Before Profits: Building momentum towards the Framework Convention on Alcohol Control,’ will provide the necessary political impetus and generate new research and evidence-based ideas in drug and alcohol policy,” the Minister said.
Addiction
The Minister highlighted that government is concerned that up to one in three teenagers are addicted to drugs and alcohol in South Africa.
This figure is based on the numbers of young people presenting themselves to treatment facilities.
‘While we are concerned about the harm that all drugs have on individuals, families and or society as a whole, there is a significant body of evidence from research institutions such as the South African Medical Research Council and Soul City that suggest that alcohol is one of the most abused substances that causes the most harm to the most people in our country,” Zulu said.
The Minister further highlighted to delegates that research further shows that alcohol fuels crime, mortality rates and fatal injuries, and contributes to the unacceptably high levels of vehicle crashes in South Africa.
At the same time, she said, alcohol significantly contributes to gender-based violence and risky sexual behaviours associated with sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.
The Minister added that time and again, the quarterly crime statistics show that alcohol abuse is one of the main contributors to crime around the country.
She said that government is concerned about the emerging trends among young people of mixing alcohol with energy drinks.
“In the face of these growing challenges, our people have demanded that government take necessary measures to address the harmful use of alcohol.
“I must acknowledge that this has not been the easiest of tasks. Any measures to prevent and reduce alcohol harm has been met with a monumental and well-resourced push back that seem to put commercial interests before people from the alcohol industry.”
The Minister emphasised that government’s objective is to regulate the sale and supply of alcohol to the public, not motivated by revenue collection, but rather by purely by the interests of public health and wellbeing, with the particular purposes of protecting children and young people, reducing alcohol consumption, and preventing violent crime and other forms of alcohol related harm.
She said this objective arises from the overwhelming evidence of significant harm to individuals and society caused by the harmful use of alcohol. –SAnews.gov.za
