East London-based non-profit organisation, Gatekeepers South Africa, has reignited the debate surrounding the legal drinking age, calling for it to be raised from 18 to between 21 and 23. In a letter addressed to President Cyril Ramaphosa on 11 December 2025, the organisation argued that stricter regulations are urgently needed to curb the sale and consumption of alcohol in the country.
This proposal comes almost a decade after the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) introduced the Liquor Amendment Bill in 2016, which suggested increasing the legal drinking age to 21. However, the bill has faced numerous delays and is yet to be passed into law.
The DTIC spokesperson, Bongani Lukhele, explained that after the bill was finalised at the National Economic Development and Labour Council’s (Nedlac) Trade and Industry Chamber Task Team in 2017, it was presented before the Cabinet Committee in February 2018. The Cabinet Committee raised concerns that required further consideration.
"The bill was, however, not approved and the (DTIC), due to the number of its legislation in Parliament at that time, resolved to keep the bill in abeyance with the intention of introducing it in the coming administration," Lukhele said.
He added that in 2020, following the Covid-19 outbreak, the department resolved that the bill, as it stood, "may not make a sufficient dent to address the challenges of liquor abuse."
Lukhele further stated that the department undertook intergovernmental engagement on liquor abuse between September 2022 and October 2023, which led to the development of a Cabinet Memorandum on the Government Coordinated Approach. As of July and October 2025, the DTIC has consulted with the National Liquor Policy Council and is in the process of reviewing the bill, taking into account new developments in the liquor market and issues affecting communities and provinces.
Gatekeepers South Africa's Lizelle Maurice argued in the letter to President Ramaphosa that alcohol addiction often leads to addiction to other substances. She drew a parallel with the restrictions placed on cigarette advertising, highlighting the detrimental effects of alcohol abuse on society.
“A good few years ago, legislation was brought in to stop the advertising of cigarettes because it was harmful to our lungs. Restaurants had to cordon off a section of their restaurants as smoking areas, because even passive smoking was recognised as harmful to those non-smokers in close proximity to the smoker," Maurice wrote. "The abuse of alcohol has far worse repercussions than cigarettes.”
Maurice also highlighted the link between alcohol abuse and gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF), as well as the high number of road fatalities and alcohol-related illnesses in South Africa. She cited figures from the Foundation for Alcohol Related Research, stating that approximately six million individuals in South Africa are affected by Foetal Alcohol Syndrome.
“How many people die on our roads due to drunken driving and many others through alcohol-related illnesses? According to the Foundation for Alcohol Related Research, about six million individuals in South Africa are affected by Foetal Alcohol Syndrome,” she wrote.
Maurice also referenced the World Health Organisation's data, which indicates that South Africa has one of the highest reported per capita rates of alcohol consumption globally.
In addition to raising the legal drinking age, Gatekeepers South Africa is advocating for a ban on alcohol advertising in public spaces and harsh jail sentences for tavern and liquor outlet owners who allow minors to enter their premises.
“Harsh jail sentences must be imposed on tavern owners, nightclub owners and liquor outlets who allow young adults to enter. In a recent tavern shooting (in Gauteng), a 3-year-old, 12-year-old and a 16-year-old, were part of the 12 people who were killed in the tavern," said Maurice, highlighting the dangers of underage drinking in unsupervised environments. “How were they allowed into the tavern? Take the tavern licence away. The same happened with the Enyobeni tavern in East London (in 2022), 21 young people died because of alcohol.”
The Southern African Alcohol Policy Alliance echoed the call for an increase in the legal drinking age, emphasising its importance in changing binge drinking consumption patterns.
“The Liquor Amendment Bill proposes increase in age of sale to 21. We have seen the impact of sales to minors [such as the] death of 21 children and youth at Enyobeni,” said the alliance’s general secretary Aadielah Maker-Diedericks.
Maker-Diedericks stressed that the bill is based on evidence and offers an opportunity to align South Africa with international best practices, providing a legal framework for the regulation of liquor nationally.
“It (the bill) should go hand in hand with enforcement,” Maker-Diedericks said. “Currently, we have a law that states that you can be fined R1 million or five years imprisonment if caught supplying minors. This is the public conversation we should have. Together with banning advertising to the point of sale to reduce normalisation of drinking and increasing the price to reduce affordability, this is a critical intervention.”
Attempts to obtain comment from Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya were unsuccessful. The debate surrounding the legal drinking age and stricter alcohol regulations is likely to continue as stakeholders grapple with the complex challenges of alcohol abuse in South Africa.
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