LIQUOR TRADERS MARCH GOES ON TODAY

MANZINI - Fed up liquor traders are expected to be littered along the streets of Mbabane today as they continue to mount pressure on government to lift the ban on alcohol sale.

This is according to the Swaziland National Liquor Association (SNLA) Secretary General, Thamsanqa Hlatshwayo, who is also heading the committee that coordinates the logistics of the petition delivery march.  He said today, they would be implementing a decision which was taken by the liquor traders during their meeting which was held at The George Hotel last Friday. He said the march was a legal one as they had applied for permission to use the streets of the capital city (Mbabane) from Mbabane City Council on Monday, which meant that the application was made on time as per the Public Order Act of 2018.

Application 

The secretary general said despite filing the application on time, he got a call from the municipality late yesterday afternoon, informing them that they did not receive their correspondence. 

In that regard, he said they invited him and the committee to a meeting this morning at 8am in the municipality. He said he supposes they would be talking about the routes.

Otherwise, he said with or without a response, their march was legal as they applied for the routes on time and the person who received the application on behalf of the municipality signed to confirm that he received it. He said they would assemble at the Coronation Park at 10:30am and march to the PM’s Office to deliver the first petition. Thereafter, he said they would go to the South Africa High Commission before marching to the European Union Commission. 

Support 

In that regard, Hlatshwayo invited all liquor traders to attend the activity without fail. He said consumers, who wanted to support them, would do so if they saw that they (liquor traders) were at the forefront.  Meanwhile, by the time of compiling this report, the Municipal Council of Mbabane Information and Public Relations Officer Lucky Tsabedze said he had difficulties in getting hold of the office responsible for the matter.

On the other hand, Chief Police Information and Communications Officer Superintendent Phindile Vilakati said they had not received any communiqué regarding the matter.  To the PM’s Office, the liquor traders will demand the reopening of liquor trade, while at the EU and SA High Commission, they will report the Eswatini Government that it has allegedly breached the Free Trade Agreement between the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) States and Southern African Customs Union (SACU) States by banning the sale of alcohol in the kingdom. Their argument is that most of the liquor they are selling comes from outside the country.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: