Picture by Gawker.

De-drug RSA AND save the economy … why not?

The ANC and the Booze industry look down on Mandela’s Rainbow baby beaten, battling to breathe.
They arrange themselves for a photo-shoot, then tell press, “aagh-shame, BUT hang on, is she as bad
as the kids over the road?”

South Africa has monster size alcohol problems. It is time to get real but grown men and women
piddle on about a good age for drinking – a good age! And argue “yes it is” - “no it isn’t” over
advertising encouraging, as the trade puts it, “early adoption”i by adolescents for booze.

South Africa has a ‘drink-the problem-away’, ‘only-drink-makes-it-fun’ culture. Neither works for
more than a few hours yet getting stoned is practiced by the Upper Classes and No Class alike: Guilt,
pain, frustration, loneliness, failure … Drink them all away. Or enjoy the cricket or the birthday party
by blowing your mind for a day, a weekend with the world’s deadliest drug. South African’s are
themselves the liquor industry’s best advertisement. Imagine millions of white, black, coloured
youths holding hands running through the streets shouting “we’re doomed, life’s over, they’ve
changed the drinking age” – forget it. They’ll carry on with Mums and Daddies, elder brothers and
sisters, morosely discussing how full of sh*te the other South Africans are … If booze accounts for
40% of violent crimeii how much more political anger and racial discord does it generate at the very
moment the battle for economic equality should be the goal? Bring on the Hate Speech Act –
CHEERS!

Why is it happening, why it continues is awfully easy to answer – a human tragedy is reduced once
again to money-talk. Every born-into-Capitalism economist, South African politician and business-
person will explain alcohol is a dream model, vital to GDP: Big money in making it, selling and fixing
the results – diseases (body and mind), accidents (work-home and on the road), and oh god did I
promiscuous activitiesiii - yields enormous profits.

What about vegetable soup instead? No. Around 20 million South Africans haven’t regular balanced
meals but soup is a useless gross domestic product (GDP) tool. Where are the mega profits in
healthy people, people wanting to be fit or people thinking … straight?

The government talks of actualiv losses and the liquor industry argues potential turnover lostv as if
GDP growth determines the happiness of the people, the health of the country. There can be no
future happiness and health either: South African foetal alcohol syndrome incidence is shockingvi.

Many alcohol/related deaths ago, in October 2016, the then Trade and Industry Minister Davies said
alcohol had a “harmful effect (on) individuals and communities as a whole”vii. Understatement:
emotional and behavioural damage never stops, the cost incalculable.

Missing is that particular spirit called Community (or Ubuntu). It lies beyond money. Its only
objective is caring for human life AND the environment as one interdependent entity: That’s good
government. Big Business is about self, about maximising profit no matter the cost to humanity and
the environment - bugger the people and make the empty plot nearby a dumping ground. It too has
a single goal: meeting shareholder expectations after, of course, executive remuneration.

Using tax monies the South African government is expected to react, to clean up after Big Business –
from polluted rivers to drunken brawl broken heads.

The Distell Group’s shareholders’ dividend improved from 123c per share in 2005 to 346 in 2015viii.
The share tripled from 2008 to 2017 (Google Finance). The CEO’s remuneration is over R10 million a
yearix. The Director General of Health’s salary, the ministry very involved in the darker side of
alcohol’s life-cycle, a vastly bigger job than making gin, is about R2 million1x.

Tis true South Africa’s GDP has risen from US$3445 in 1994 to US$5284 in 2016 but there hasn’t
been overall improvement in health or well-being.

To understand South Africa’s shocking white collar crime, the violence, small business failure rate,
un- and underemployment, the flight of skills and Rand or the real poverty rate, consider the alcohol
road record; RSA “… had the highest number of drunk driving incidents at 58%” in the world … (and
the GDP growth champion) China the least on 4%”xi.

Alcohol use produces outcomes, and the society-negative consequences of those outcomes need to
be realised. At present only the profits of private companies that arise out of alcohol chaos are
acknowledged.

The government needs to step around the current petty debate, stop being nanny to citizens and
start behaving like the business it should itself be.

Educate – critical to change and growth - and accept (it is unpoliceable) drinking at an age South
Africans are ok with. Let the alcohol-makers advertise to its heart’s content – the bullseye produced
proves they’re making big bucks and South Africans aren’t stupid. But at the same time agree profits
realised by these drug suppliers are from now on stated after all costs are recognised.

Harmed by booze must become a cost. Fair play is to ensure the free flow of alcohol has
consequences. Outcomes are easily anticipated.

Those harmed, government and citizen, must be able to sue and they must start now. That includes
suing parents for being irresponsible/negligent but it is also time to reel in the rope the liquor
industry has allowed itself.

Until recently “… the idea that a company could be a criminal was alien to American law. The
prevailing assumption was … that corporations had neither bodies to be punished nor souls to be
condemned, and thus were incapable of being “guilty”xii. Wonderfully things have changed.

The indignant “I/my business has rights” needs to be tempered with an equal dose of “but you (and
company) have duties and responsibilities too”. During Obama’s term fines on companies operating
in the US amounted to (on annual average) US$17 billion (R200 billion) a year and that money went
into public coffersxiii.

1
A more involved story that needs written up by an analyst is the relationships developing between life-
dissolving and life giving business units in South Africa. It seems to me Remgro for example owns Distel and
Mediclinic International (see http://www.4-traders.com/REMGRO-LIMITED-1413405/company/ &
http://www.4-traders.com/DISTELL-GROUP-LIMITED-1413363/company/) At monopoly level that makes good
strategic business sense. That 4-traders notes the Public Investment Corp. Ltd owns 28% of Distell is sad. 51%
would make sense.
As part of their business risk banks accept fines for money launderingxiv etcetera. Medicine
manufacturers, doctors and illegal crack dealers are held responsible for the outcomes of their
service and resultant customer behaviour. The alcohol industry must join the club. The right to sell
alcohol must be matched with the duty to pick up costs. If you want a life in RSA agree to get tough
on alcohol consequences (and please hit “Like” on my FB page).

The potential loss of jobs will be countered by real economic stimulation … exactly what the legal-
drug industry is crowing the country needs. The change will be in the money flow. From court case
or settlement into the public pocket, monies recovered will be spent … in South Africa. After all,
communities are the real shareholders of South Africa. Booze company execs earning exorbitant
salaries without end user responsibility and guilt free dividends must end.

A simple single example … if a motor accident is found to have been caused to any degree by alcohol
the state must be able to recover proportionately the last item in cost from the fireman’s overtime
to the replacement of any concrete divot and all hospital costs from the liquor provider. And insurers
should be considered involved: Forget exclusions. If a car (or health) policy is sold to a drinker and
something goes wrong they join in the civil and criminal dock along with the alcohol industry.
Knowing your customer is a business technique to reduce the risk of business – it’s time to apply it.

As much as the criminal defence of being “under the influence” must be tightenedxv, the family of a
drunk supplied must be enabled to sue alcohol companies for supplying. And for continuing to
supply there must be a criminal charge. The industry knows the statistics. They must bear the costs
of all who turn out to be problematic; the alcoholic and heavy (for whatever reason) drinker.

As much as drunks and the criminal-when-under-influence must be punished they shouldn’t be

taking up prison space or budget. Alcohol sellers can fund government-community initiatives for
abusing users to give something back as alternate sentencesxvi.

In South Africa “about 6•3% of disability-adjusted life-years lost are attributable to alcohol, and
about 130 deaths are from alcohol-related causes every day”xvii. Family trauma and nation
destruction – incalculable - is over and above those horror figures.

Not feeling is no replacement for reality. Today’s drink doesn’t dissolve tomorrow’s problems but,
say many, it is when a country takes its first step out of the abyss it discovers the treasures of life.
The sun shines ever brighter and the shadows stretch longer … but then the darkness is behind.xviii

i
“Branded. The buying and selling of teenagers” by Alissa Quart
ii
http://www.drugfreeworld.org/drugfacts/alcohol/international-statistics.html
iii
www.iflscience.com/editors.../whats-most-dangerous-drug-world-according-science
iv
Example “… costs associated with harmful alcohol use in South Africa have been estimated at between R245
933 – 280 687 billion” … See https://www.phasa.org.za/ban-alcohol-advertising-south-africa.
v
… “silencing alcohol advertising will cost the out-of-home, radio, television and print media more than R1.9
billion a year.” … See https://businesstech.co.za/news/lifestyle/228829
vi
https://theconversation.com/south-africa-fails-to-tackle-its-high-foetal-alcohol-syndrome-rate
vii
https://www.fin24.com/Economy/will-21-be-the-new-legal-drinking-age-in-sa-20161003
viii
https://www.distell.co.za/investor-centre/dividend-history/
ix
https://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=249326908&privcapId=875709
Reuters shows 22 senior people and Google Finance reports a net profit margin of over 9% AFTER paying that
bunch … to make legal drugs!
x
https://www.iol.co.za/news/politics/union-cries-foul-as-dgs-score-in-salary-hikes-1678235
xi
See https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/Local/Greytown-Gazette/sa-worst-in-the-world-for-drunk-
driving-20170704
xii
https://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21614138-companies-must-be-punished-when-they-do-wrong-
legal-system-has-become-extortion
xiii
https://www.exposedbycmd.org/2018/02/13/corporate-criminals-unleashed-federal-penalties-imposed-
largest-corps-plunged-trumps-first-year/?
xiv
http://www.douglasschorr.com/2015/07/rugby-drugs-hsbc.html
xv
Surely if a person deliberately has a drink or three intentional disregard thereafter can be assumed?
xvi
Giving back: thinking about who we don’t ever want to be again. Currently prisons’ prisoners’ classes make
professional criminals out of drunks.
xvii
www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(14)60954-5/abstract … by C Parry 2014
xviii
Acknowledgements to Larry Dredla, Charlotte Whitton and a.n.o. forgotten – sorry.