A balancing act needed in the Alcohol Levy reduction

This means the levy now will be 35% on the cost of production. This is the first reduction since the contentious levy was introduced in 2008. There were too many problems, which were brought about by the introduction of the levy ranging from loss of business to loss of jobs and for a long time, many wanted the levy to be gone like yesterday.

However, now that it has been cut while government continues to consult on whether to stop it altogether or not, traders should be forced to comply with the current policy. Already, there are echoes from the industry players, the Botswana Alcohol Industry Association (BAIA) that the announcement came as a shock, saying the reduction would cause losses as many were sitting on stock procured at a higher price.