By Modiegi Mashamaite – Times Live Reporter The Southern African Alcohol Policy Alliance (SAAPA) has called out the near-decade-long delay in passing the Liquor Amendment Bill of 2016, expressing its concern that inaction is enabling underage drinking and other alcohol-related harms. The bill proposes raising the legal drinking age to 21, restricting advertising and limiting …

By Aadielah Maker Diedericks, Makhosazana Ndlovu, Julian Jacobs In a country grappling with one of the highest alcohol consumption rates per drinker in the world, South Africa cannot afford regulatory silence. Yet, nearly a decade after it was introduced, the Liquor Amendment Bill of 2016—designed to tackle alcohol-related harm—remains in legislative limbo. The reason, as …

Mbombela, Mpumalanga – The Southern African Alcohol Policy Alliance South Africa (SAAPA SA) is outraged by the planned BokTown fan park event at Nelspruit Primary School on 16 August 2025. This event isn’t about bringing people together; it’s about a corporation using our national pride to normalise and sell alcohol. Let’s be clear: holding an …

Alcohol harms are everywhere, but they are not always visible. Every day, South African communities bear the brunt of alcohol-related violence, road crashes, gender-based violence, and deepening health inequities. Yet, these harms are often underreported or decontextualised in mainstream media coverage, particularly in political reporting and urban news cycles. We believe that journalism has the power …

16 May 2025 Cape Town – A recent study has revealed that the alcohol industry may have undulyinfluenced the delay of South Africa’s Liquor Amendment Bill of 2016 by dominatingthe policy negotiation space at NEDLAC. This was presented during a SouthernAfrican Alcohol Policy Alliance (SAAPA) webinar, which highlighted the exclusion ofcivil society from key discussions. …

#BehindCloseDoors: How Big Alcohol Has Stalled Liquor Legislation at NEDLAC 13 May 2025 Join us for a virtual national dialogue to unpack findings from a joint study by the Southern African Alcohol Policy Alliance—South Africa (SAAPA-SA), SAMRC/WITS, and the University of Stirling (UK). The research exposes how alcohol industry lobbying has delayed the Draft Liquor …

Cape Town, 9 April 2025 –The South African Alcohol Policy Alliance in South Africa (SAAPA-SA) has welcomed the Eastern Cape Education Department’s commitment and bold steps to ban all alcohol on school premises, even at private and after hours fundraising events, which reflects the sentiments of South Africans when they rejected the inclusion of such …

The Southern African Alcohol Policy Alliance (SAAPA) applauds the firm stance taken by Judge Avinash Govindjee in delivering harsh sentences to two men convicted of murdering their partners in the Eastern Cape. SAAPA also strongly supports the judge’s call for the Minister of Health, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, to implement mandatory health warnings on all alcohol …

Harm due to alcohol use is a leading threat to public health globally, and a key barrier to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 3.5 (“Strengthen the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, including narcotic drug abuse and harmful use of alcohol”)(1). Increasingly alcohol use is recognised as a salient risk factor for Gender-Based Violence, …

The BELA Bill was first drafted in 2017 but was released for public comment in 2022. The Southern African Alcohol Policy Alliance upon its release criticised and called for the removal of clause 8 of the Bill. This stated that liquor could be sold at school functions and school premises for fund raising purposes. Children …