Kasie liquor traders block alcohol delivery

Liquor traders keep an eye on the road.

Members of the Western Cape Liquor Traders Organisation (WCLTO) are not backing down and are taking the hard line with chain stores and trucks delivering alcohol in the townships.

Last week the organisation threatened to stop any deliveries of alcohol to chain stores in townships (“Liquor traders irate”, Vukani, October 24).

The organisation said chain stores should not benefit from the township economy at the expense of local traders.

On the morning of Monday October 28, liquor traders shut off crucial arteries into the townships, preventing access for liquor delivery trucks heading into Nyanga, Samora Machel and Lower Crossroads.

Samora Machel trader Nomsa Daweti said bemoaned the fact that “big business” was allowed to sell liquor but they were not.

“We are being stopped from trading but they allow Pick * Pay and other big businesses to trade in our areas. Why is that?

“We support the liquor companies but no one supports us.

Instead, they want us to close down our businesses.

The better solution is for us all to stop trading,” she said.

She said in the coming weeks they would continue to prevent the trucks from entering their communities.

“They come with loads of liquor in our areas – for what? “We should be the ones trading here, not them. We should as an association will continue to crack down on these trucks,” she said.

The chairperson of WCLTO, Allan Samuels, said the organisation had heeded the calls from members to stop the trucks.

“We are doing this peacefully because we are respectful and disciplined people.

But we need to be respected too. We need to be a priority in our own areas.

“Why should they trade while our people are not allowed? That bites me,” he said.

In response to Vukani’s queries sent to the Western Cape Liquor Authority last week, assistant director of communication, education and stakeholder relations, Nwabisa Mpalala, said to legally sell liquor one required a liquor licence.

“The Western Cape Liquor Authority meets regularly with the Western Cape Liquor Traders’ Organisation and our next meeting is scheduled towards the end of the month.

‘We requested the WCLTO to put their proposals and comments in writing after which, it will be forwarded to the drafting team for consideration,” she said.