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The Democratic Alliance (DA) is currently dealing with numerous complaints of poor service delivery from the Gauteng Liquor Board (GLB). On the 22nd of February, we attended a workshop at the GLB with industry members to see for ourselves. Unfortunately, the Chief Director of the GLB was not present, reinforcing our earlier impression that a total lack of leadership and work ethic has taken hold at the GLB.

Liquor consultants expressed numerous frustrations that painted a picture of yet another government entity that is not at all interested in being customer focused. In addition, it is almost impossible to access the offices of the GLB and speak to an actual human official.

One of the negative consequences of this behaviour is that liquor traders often incur additional costs by appointing specialist legal counsel to help them navigate the complex and often hostile process of obtaining a liquor license. This bureaucratic harassment forced traders into an impossible set of choices to either face long and expensive delays in getting an application approved, pay a bribe to a corrupt official, or trade illegally.

The GLB spoke of a Query Management Centre (QMC) that has been activated to speed up applications. However, the DA is concerned that a reply to our written questions indicates that the GLB is still using a manual system to process an application.

We have also submitted written questions for dozens of applications to assess their progress, but responses from the MEC have been slow.

The written response from the MEC also admits that there are problems with telephone lines and connectivity at every single GLB branch.

However, at the heart of the matter is the fact that corruption is rife at the GLB and quite openly spoken about by both staff and liquor consultants. It is as ubiquitous in the GLB as in Eskom, Prasa, and any government entity in South Africa currently.

If you are experiencing a delay in your application for a liquor license, please visit the following link (Insert the URL to our google form). We will address your query directly with the MEC in a written question.

The GLB can be turned around to become a capable, customer-facing entity that delivers quality services to the liquor industry. Achieving that is going to require political will, something that the DA is well known for and ready to do.

Issued by Ina Cilliers MPL - DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Economic Development