Drop in alcohol confiscations

Alcohol confiscated by City of Cape Town officials.
The City of Cape Town says there has been a drop in the amount of alcohol confiscated over the festive season.

The festive season road safety report released earlier this week by Transport Minister Dr Blade Nzimande indicates that nearly 60% of road fatalities in South Africa involve alcohol. 

In Cape Town, alcohol is listed as the second leading cause of fatal drowning incidents.

Mayoral committee member for safety and security; and social services, JP Smith, said: “Our Liquor Enforcement Unit has collated the statistics for the period 1 December 2018 to 15 January 2019, confirming that 11 389 bottles of alcohol were confiscated, totalling 7299.72 litres.”

This shows a 15% drop year-on-year and a near 40% drop from the 2016/17 festive season.

When it comes to beach confiscations, Table View and Silwerstroom recorded an increase year-on-year. 

In previous years, beaches between Macassar and Gordon’s Bay and those on the Atlantic Seaboard have had the highest number of confiscations. While they continue to account for the bulk of confiscations, there has been a noticeable reduction in both areas.   

“The City cannot pinpoint with certainty the reasons behind the shift in trends, but we do welcome it and hope that we can sustain it going forward. Awareness campaigns around this problem have been very prominent over the last few years and one suspects that this has something to do with the higher levels of compliance,” said Mr Smith.