Lobatse Member of Parliament (MP) Nehemiah Modubule wants the new traditional beer regulations suspended.Presenting an urgent motion in the House last Friday, Modubule argued that the new regulations, which came into effect on July 1, were contributing to poverty and have brought misery to Chibuku traders.The new rules seek to regulate the sale of traditional beer, by banning the sale of commercial alcoholic brews like beer and Chibuku in households. Traditional brews like khadi, setopoti, mokuru, sekhokho can be sold in households, in a house that children do not have access to, only when a trader has applied for and received a licence from his/her Kgosi. The new regulations also impose trading hours for both commercial and traditional brews.
Modubule argued that the regulations seem to be discriminatory towards Chibuku traders, saying they do not explain why the sale of Chibuku in the home is any worse than that of traditional brews such as setopoti and mokuru. He said that the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) effected the regulations without preparing the necessary infrastructure like depots, for traders. He argued that Chibuku traders, who are now unable to continue their business, are going to be a burden to the government, as they will be forced to join programmes such as the Destitute Programme and Ipelegeng. He also argued that there is no land for traders who wish to build depots for themselves.Kgatleng West MP Gilbert Mangole slammed the ministry for not bringing stakeholders on board when crafting the regulations. He said government should have had a definite plan and mitigation strategy before implementing the regulations. He contended that had Chibuku producer, Botswana Breweries Limited (BBL), been given a platform, they would have come up with a solution. He said the current situation prevails because the consultations with BBL were not exhaustive, thus limiting the role that the company could have played. He added that Chibuku traders themselves are willing to come up with solutions, but said that the ministry did not take their suggestions into consideration when drafting the regulations. He said the ministry was fooled by the number of people who had applied for Chibuku trade licences, saying these were people who already had depots, which does not reflect the number of traders who have nowhere to conduct their businesses.
