BY DELISA THWALA
MBABANE – The development of a Digital Liquor Licensing System (DLLS) to assist Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and customers to connect to government services has been approved
This was mentioned by the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade Manqoba Khumalo during the morning live show at Eswatini Broadcasting Services (EBIS) this morning.
The minister said the review of the Liquor Licensing Act has commenced, and it aims at achieving alignment of procedures and to streamline processes with modern times.
He said, therefore, there was always an opportunity for better collaboration with the beer industry in formulating policies and programmes that reduce the harmful effect of alcohol across the continent.
“I find it very impressive that alongside the industry’s economic initiatives, you do recognise the growth of the beer industry must always be coupled with a commitment to ensuring our products are marketed and consumed responsibly,” he said.
In addition Khumalo added that Eswatini was already experiencing key economic challenges and so the pandemic has exacerbated an already fragile economic situation.
He said there was an immediate urgency for government to improve their partnerships and collaboration with the industry in general, to positively support economic development.
He said the beer industry in particular needs to leverage on this call and ensure they work collectively for the betterment of the countries’ development and sustainability.
“We are aware of the World Breweries Alliance’s (WBA) key findings from a study by Oxford Economics, assessing the economic impact of the country’s beer industry’s in 2019, to GDP, jobs and taxes. I must agree that from the statistics, beer does seem to be an inherently formidable engine of economic activity and development,” he added.
This publication reported in October this year, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Trade engaged Members of Parliament on the Liquor Licensing Bill of 2021.
According to the Eswatini Government social media pages, the Bill seeks to amend the Liquor Act 1964 to, among other things, allow for liquor businesses to operate on Swazi Nation Land (SNL).
Khumalo had said the extension of the issuance of the Liquor Licenses to liquor businesses in SNL was believed to increase economic growth and enhance job creation thus contributing positively to the livelihood of emaSwati.
Worth noting is the fact that there has been an existence of an illegal trade of liquor in the rural areas which did not benefit the economy and is in violation of this Act. On another note, this can be regarded as an indicator of a market or demand of the liquor business under SNL.
