E-Malt.com News article: Botswana: The law will reduce the number of hours that drinkers can enjoy a beer

Botswana is to introduce a law that will reduce the number of hours that drinkers can enjoy a beer, BBC News posted on February 16. The government has amended the Liquor Act to say that beer can be sold for five hours every day and no beer to be sold on Sundays.

With effect from 1 April this year, bars and bottle stores will open at 17:00 and close at 23:00. They will remain shut on Sunday, when many Batswana go to church and other places of worship.

Bar and bottle storeowners have vowed to confront the government. They say the change will ruin business. Onnalenna Kgosiemang of the Liquor Traders Association says the government is determined to go ahead with the amended law even though it has not consulted people in the liquor trade.

Political row: The proposed amendment has also pitted government against members of parliament - including some from President Festus Mogae's Botswana Democratic Party. Keletso Rakhudu, MP for Gaborone North, believes that the new law will cause job losses among bars staff, as such businesses will not make any meaningful profits. Bars and bottle stores form a significant part of the private sector in Botswana.

However, President Mogae blames alcohol for the spread of HIV/Aids and other social ills and believes its consumption must be controlled. Critics of this move say that the new law will lead to mushrooming of backyard shebeens (unlicensed drinking dens) which will be difficult for government to monitor and control.

Many people I spoke believe it is the small man who will suffer, as bars are mostly small businesses whose owners struggle to make a living.


17 February, 2006