Govt seeks liquor trade monopoly

By Lance Guma
29 August 2005

Operation Murambatsvina may have been declared over by government officials but the reality is that it is now a creature that has taken a life of its own in various forms. Bottle store owners trying to renew their liquor licences are confronting this reality. According to the Daily Mirror, authorities in Harare have stopped issuing permits through the Liquor Board citing unspecified irregularities. The move has forced most bottle store owners to close down as they cannot sell alcohol without the licences.

It is alleged the Ministry of Local Government issued a discretionary decree to the Liquor Board giving them power to make the policy u-turn. Those in the business say the local authority is merely trying to create a monopoly for the council owned Rufaro Marketing Limited, a company running several bottle stores in Harare. The company has been in free fall ever since the industry was de-regulated sparking speculation the cash-strapped commission running the city is relying on government interference to raise money for their operations.

Journalist Lionel Saungweme says the re-emergence of Leo Mugabe as a power broker in Rufaro Marketing should not be discounted. The clear meddling by government in the operations of private business through the refusal to renew licences was the hallmark of Zanu PF business practice and Mugabe's nephew had a colourful history with the company. He says following the media-gate scandal in which the Mirror Group was alleged to be 100 percent owned by the intelligence services, the story in the Daily Mirror was definitely from a government source and likely to be accurate.