By Thabo Monyela
POLOKWANE- Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism (Ledet) has lost in a court battle to effectively impose the banning of alcohol sales after midnight to all liquor outlets.
The Polokwane’s High Court has ruled that liquor outlets that are still under the old liquor Act of 1989 in the province, can still operate until 2 am, however those who acquired their liquor licenses after 1 August 2023, will have to operate under the new revised Act, which will force them to cease the sale of alcohol at midnight.
The High Court’s judgement also ruled that liquor stores such as Tops, Pick n Pay and others can sell up to Sundays, as opposed to the repealed Act of 1989 which allowed trade only from Monday to Saturday.
The ruling comes after the Sekhukhune Liquor Traders Association (SLTA) joined by the EFF in Limpopo filed an urgent court interdict to prevent Ledet from implementing the Midnight Act, which came to effect on August 1st .
Speaking to a liquor trader operating in Bolobedu, said the midnight curfew was affecting their revenue and are happy with the handed judgement.
“the midnight curfew was badly affecting us and we had to offload some our staff members because we could not afford to pay them and some people were hesitant to visit us because of the early closure, with the court judged in our favour, we are happy that our business will get back to normal,” the trader said.
