Joint+Statement+of+YCL+and+Gauteng+Liquor+Board

PRESS STATEMENT, 25 January 2007
=Joint Statement of the Young Communist League and the Gauteng Liquor Board on the meeting held on the 24th of January 2007.=

The Gauteng Liquor Licensing Office and the Young Communist League (YCL) have agreed on a joint campaign to discourage the selling of liquor to learners. This was the outcome of a meeting held yesterday the 24th January 2007, between the head of Liquor Licensing in Gauteng Kenneth Mapengo and the National Secretary of the Young Communist League, Cde Buti Manamela.

The meeting also agreed on a need for a National Summit of all stakeholders in the liquor industry to address the problem of the sale of alcohol to minors and learners.

“It is in all our interest to ensure that those who trade in liquor do so within the law,” said Mapengo. He said the compliance unit of the liquor licensing office will continue to enforce compliance with the liquor Act. “Working with various stakeholders, we will ensure that liquor is not sold to minors and learners and that traders do not operate their businesses near schools and places of worship.” he said.

The Gauteng Liquor Act prohibits the granting of licenses to liquor outlets operating within a 500 meter radius from a school or a place of worship. Traders who sell liquor to minors will have their licenses cancelled.

Mapengo said he welcomed the role played by the YCL in raising awareness of the problem of exposure to alcohol by learners particularly during school hours. “We have a responsibility to protect our young people to early exposure to alcohol. As the YCL, we will continue to be intolerant to those who take part in destroying the future of our young people by selling alcohol to them particularly during school hours as this disrupts their schooling,” said Manamela.

//For more information contact://


 * Kenneth Mapengo @ 082 469 8663**
 * Castro Ngobese @ 082 567 3557**

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