A new national body was formed at the weekend to transform taverns from social hubs into modernised and technology-savvy business enterprises.

The tavern industry is estimated to be worth between R40 and R60 billion as an industry (Source DTI 2018) and accounts for 80-90% of township alcohol sales and 43% of all alcohol sold in South Africa.

The new national structure, known as the National Liquor Traders Council, will represent the interests of more than 34 500 traders in South Africa.

An advisory unit of the National Liquor Traders Council was mooted and it will be  tasked with identifying and developing commercial opportunities for associations and traders in the industry, instilling a broader commercial sensibility in its members, providing opportunities in marketing, distribution, eventing, and recycling The Advisory unit will be led by Lucky Ntimane in his capacity as the Convenor of the newly formed structure.

Major industry players support the formation of the new body, including the Beer Association of South Africa (BASA), led by its chairperson Aphiwe Nxusani–Mawela and by representatives from the Liquor Traders Association of South Africa (LTASA) led by its president Sean Robinson. Also, in attendance at the formation were Distell, SAB, and Touchsides.

The weekend conference established a task team under new interim chairperson Hector Winston and together with  Lucky Ntimane, Convenor of the Liquor Traders of SA, will work to prepare for a national elective conference in early February 2021.

Winston committed the leadership collective that emerged from the consultative conference to work together with all liquor trader associations.

He said, “The associations are on the ground and have a civic duty to build stable structures to ensure that taverns become places of responsible trading and operate in compliance with all applicable laws.

“They would now be at the forefront of promoting responsible drinking, including becoming champions in the fight against gender-based violence in their communities.”

Addressing the conference, Ntimane thanked Distell and BASA for their sponsorship of the event.

“BASA, Distell, and the liquor industry have made significant commitments supporting the taverners during COVID-19 trading environment through their supply of care packs comprising masks, sanitisers, and an informational booklet on responsible trading of alcohol and how to be compliant with the government’s pandemic regulations,” he said.

The event was facilitated by Olatoye Amosun, CEO of Consumatech, an organization which develops high impact technology solutions designed for Africa. Amosun presented a commissioned report, titled “Realizing the Potential of the Tavern Industry” which set the tone for the potential of taverns to shift from being social hubs to economic hubs.