READER LETTER | Alcohol fuels all ills in the country

Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi recently made a surprise visit to a tavern in the Vaal. That community and many other townships and informal settlements countrywide have drinking places. Additionally, SA is glutted with illicit alcoholic beverages.

Last Tuesday, the iconic Orlando Stadium was reborn as Orlando Amstel Arena. It seems non-alcoholic sponsors, like our potable tap water, have run dry. From now on the former Orlando Stadium is officially Soweto’s drinking hole.

Behind every statistic of an offender in SA, there’s an unacceptable level of alcohol in their blood, resulting in gender-based violence and femicide, road carnage and mass killings, among others. We are simply the global headquarters of binge drinking. Wherever two or more South Africans are gathered, the space is fashioned into an illegal drinking spot.

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If we had a responsible, caring and non-greedy government, the sin waters would be temporarily suspended until the issues of licensing and regulation are fixed. Meanwhile, let’s make sure the match officials, coaches in the dugout and most importantly, the players don’t have a cold one or two too many before kick-off at Orlando. – Thami Zwane, Dennilton

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