The 30 percent levy was introduced as a presidential directive to curb alcohol abuse especially among the youth. In his State of the Nation address last Friday, President Ian Khama said steps taken last year to address alcohol abuse have started to yield some positive results with a significant reduction in excessive and irresponsible alcohol drinking.
He said the money raised through the levy would continue serving its intended purpose in programmes geared towards youth empowerment, education and rehabilitation of victims of alcohol abuse. This, he said, was because the campaign was aimed mainly towards the youth, as they were the most vulnerable group.
He said the money would further be used to provide additional funding to the youth development fund, formerly the Out of School Youth programme. Alcohol and substance abuse campaigns have been identified as one area that still needs additional funding.
Other areas that will benefit from the funding include youth industry projects, recreation and leisure centers, drama and poetry, song and dance as well as business mentoring for young people. To engage the youth in character building activities, young artists in drama, poetry, and song and dance will be mobilised. In addition 57 recreational centres will be refurbished and equipped for youth activities, 32 youth industries will be initiated and two mobile campaign trucks bought for publicity on alcohol and substance abuse programmes. All these initiatives will be targeting 250, 000 youth and over P70 million will be needed for the envisioned projects. Khama said all this will be sourced from the alcohol levy.
The levy was met with heavy criticism last year, especially from people in the alcohol and entertainment industry, complaining that it will negatively affect their businesses. Some people even threatened to sue the government so the levy could be reversed. It was initially 70 percent but was reduced after consultations with stakeholders in the alcohol industry. Khama has often said he will not hesitate to increase the levy again if the need arises.
Other steps taken to address alcohol abuse were reduction of alcohol trading hours, which some nightclub and bar owners did not take lightly to, dragging the government to court over the matter.
