Call for 2% booze levy to fund sport
THE debate on the controversial banning of alcohol advertising is raging afresh, with the Department of Sport and Recreation now demanding that a levy be introduced to mitigate the “devastating” financial impact that the bill will have.
The proposed legislation, approved by the cabinet in December 2013, seeks to ban all forms of alcohol advertising and sponsorship.
Little work has been done on the bill since it was approved, but now the Department of Sport and Recreation has proposed that the legislation be amended to allow for a 2% levy to be collected from all alcohol sales.
This levy, the department states in its 2015-20 strategic plan, would be used, among other things, to cover sponsorships for sporting and cultural events as well as health and educational campaigns around the dangers of alcohol.
“It is essential that a contingency plan be put in place,” the department says. The document states that “the minister of finance has been requested to support this position and to champion the revised bill”.
Phumza Macanda of the Treasury said that although the proposal had been made by some departments, no formal request had been made to Finance Min-
LAGER MENTALITY: Beer advertising at the Sahara cricket stadium in Durban ister Nhlanhla Nene.
The bill was initially written by a cluster of departments, including health, social development, police and transport, as a means to mitigate the social damage caused by alcohol.
South Africa regularly ap- pears near the top of lists of countries with the most reckless drinking behaviours.
Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has previously said that although the sale of alcohol was a significant contributor to the economy, it was costing the gov- ernment about R39-billion.
The ban would impact several sponsorships, including sport, recreation, arts and culture.
The SABC states in its recently released corporate plan that the alcohol ban, coupled with a proposed ban on the ad- vertising of fast foods, would translate into a R1-billion double whammy to its bottom line.
Research conducted by Econometrix in 2013 for the Industry Association for Responsible Alcohol Use puts total spending on above-the-line advertising by the alcohol industry at R1.8-billion in 2012, which rises to about R4-billion when including below-the-line spending, such as on promotions and sponsorships.
The study puts sponsorship deals by alcohol brands at between R215-million and R430million, with almost 80% of this going towards sport, and a further 10% to arts and cultural events.
And although major sports such as soccer, which has been sponsored in some form by South African Breweries for about 60 years, will be hard hit, the research also points to an almost equally devastating impact for sports development and smaller sports, such as the SABsponsored Dusi and Fish River canoe marathons.
The new legislation will also impact on South Africa’s ability to host major sporting events, such as the Fifa World Cup, because many of these events have a major alcohol sponsor on board.
The Department of Sport and Recreation failed to respond to specific questions sent to it this week.