THE DA has called for more liquor board inspectors to monitor and regulate legal and illegal liquor outlets in the Eastern Cape.
In a statement by DA MPL Andrew Whitfield he said the Eastern Cape Liquor Board could not escape some degree of responsibility for the high rate of violent crime in the province.
He said in 2016, non-compliance with the Liquor Act by taverns was cited as a root cause in the increase of crime by the provincial police commissioner.
Despite this only 30% of the required number of liquor inspectors were currently employed to carry out the task on behalf of the Board. Sixteen inspectors were working in the province with 45 the optimal requirement.
Whitfield said, “The devastating combination of rising unemployment in the Eastern Cape and the lack of adequate resources to regulate the proliferation of illegal liquor outlets is a recipe for disaster.”
He said the matter would be taken up with the Ministry of Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism.
