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Palapye MP and former cabinet minister, Boyce Sebetela backed the motion moved by Specially Elected legislator Botsalo Ntuane and almost described the new laws in dirty language. He accused the Minister of Trade and Industry, Neo Moroka of failing to correct a wrong his juniors committed. The articulate Sebetela told the minister that he should withdraw the regulations and tell his staff that "they have screwed up". He said the manner in which the regulations were drafted means they are likely to be counterproductive. He said that investors would not take Botswana seriously and will definitely move to other countries. He said he was disappointed the new regulations are not a logical conclusion of the consultation that took place until the November 2003 stakeholders' conference at Boipuso Hall in Gaborone. The legislator stressed that proper and unhurried consultation can achieve better results. He said the ministry made the worst blunder by a recent press release about the new liquor laws was. He said this was careless and shows how sometimes officialdom holds the country hostage. "I don't drink and I don't even own liquor outlet. But, if I was in that industry, I would probably have sued the ministry for that release," he said. His gripe is that the release was careless in that it casually connected alcohol with road carnage, HIV/AIDS and other social ills without proper link to any research. "That I would have said tarnishes the image of my business". He advised Moroka to withdraw the release. He denounced the Trade and Industry Ministry as backward because it is not aware of government's citizen empowerment schemes like the Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA). He said that some people have successfully applied for CEDA loans to run business in the liquor and entertainment industry and given more than five years to repay their loans. "Now the ministry that I had thought to be civilised and up-to-scratch with what is going on is coming up with laws that will reverse governments intentions of empowering small and medium enterprises," he said. Another bizarre thing about the regulations that Sebetela noticed is the relocation of bars and bottle stores from the main roads after five years. He said at the least the ministry should have suggested 10 - 15 years. Gordon Mokgwathi of Letlhakeng East said that enforcement of existing laws is enough to control excessive drinking. He said there was no comprehensive consultation before the new regulations were drafted. Mokgwathi said that there is no link between moral decay and alcohol consumption. He supported the motion and called for serious consultation with all stakeholders. Mokgwathi asked Moroka to go back to the drawing board on the proposed laws governing the liquor industry. He said there is no causal relationship between drinking hours and drunkenness. "How do we link the trading hours and excessive consumption of alcohol? He said statistics of road accidents given by those who support the motion are defective as well and should be relied upon. "I also have those statistics from the police. They do not explain whether a fatal accident occurred after the driver took some beer from a bar or not. They don't even explain the time when such alcohol was taken," he said. Shoshong MP Duke Lefhoko interjected with what was supposed to be a question of clarification. However, the clarification seemed to be a guiding question in support of the motion. "In that police report, do they have a column that explicitly link road accidents to alcohol or it is alcohol and other related substances?" Lefhoko asked. Mokgwathi jumped to the occasion, buttressing how unreliable the statistics are. He said by failing to disaggregate road accidents by having the category of alcohol alone, it is enough reason to dismiss the use of figures in the debate. Apart from the fact that the column registers alcohol and related substances, he said the police report also captures suspects of alcohol and related substances, "which means they are not even sure themselves". He however acknowledged that alcohol is a problem. As a solution, he said government should borrow a leaf from other countries that have liquor problems like Botswana. He said in the developed world such as in Europe, those who are licenced to trade in liquor are entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring that drinking is done within acceptable limits. The traders, he said are fully aware of this and are enforcing the regulations. "They have even pasted the regulations on their walls." He said even in the existing laws of Botswana, drinking excessively is outlawed. He urged government to enforce the current laws first before formulating other. However, he said there is another problem of definition and interpretation of drunkenness in the current law. However, he said as it is the practice in other places, bar tenders may use their natural human understanding of drunkenness to enforce regulations. The debate continues next week.
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