Zimpapers Logo

Bongani Ndlovu and Kusile Madlela Business Reporters
THE perennial hassle of travelling all the way to Makombe Building Complex in Harare to obtain a liquor licence is over for businesses out of the capital.

Liquor outlet operators can now obtain licences from their provincial offices.

The Liquor Licensing Board (LLB) has announced the decentralisation of the service to buttress online applications, which has been received with applause by operators.

Acting Bulawayo City Council town clerk Sikhangele Zhou confirmed in a latest council report that the local authority has received a letter from the acting provincial administrator stating that LLB had decentralised liquor licensing.

“Be advised that a liquor licensing inspector is now based at Mhlahlandlela Government Offices, 6th Floor for Bulawayo metropolitan province under the Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing,” reads the letter that has been annexed to the council report.

“The inspector will carry out routine liquor outlets inspections to ensure compliance. We request that you extend this information to your councillors who shall in turn communicate with various stakeholders concerned.”

The milestone move follows setting up of an online application facility last year that also sought to improve the speed and convenience of acquiring a liquor licence.

The online facility is in line with the e-governance approach that is envisaged to improve service delivery and efficiency across government departments.

The Registrar General’s Office for instance, has already adopted and is operationalising the online application facility for passport seekers.

Obtaining a liquor licence has previously been one of the arduous processes of formalising operations of small businesses mainly those running bottle stores, night clubs and other social centres.

To make an application an operator needs to have four identical legible floor and elevation plans of the business premises, photocopies of the adverts posted in Government Gazette and a daily paper, a letter to the director of Health Services requesting for a health report (with contact telephone numbers), pay submission fees of about $140 and a copy of town planning permit.

Local music promoters have hailed the move. Vusumuzi Siqalaba of X-MO Squad who is responsible for the annual Kalawa Jazzmee Homecoming Party said the development saves them a lot of travelling time.

“It’s really welcome news and it goes a long way in saving us time and money of having to travel to Harare and be told that decisions are pending and paperwork is being sorted it’s quite a hassle,” he said.

Mduduzi Mdlongwa of 3D Events who have hosted South African DJs Zinhle, Black Coffee and Tira said:

“This is a good initiative which will see the owners of the bars where we hold our functions run business efficiently as there’ll be no need for the long wait, where you’ve to wait for an individual in Harare to sign off on a decision that affects business in Bulawayo,” he said.

Mdlongwa said the process of getting a liquor licence before the decentralisation was cumbersome.