Tobacco traders want tobacco bill in current format stubbed out

Tobacco traders are unhappy over the reintroduction of the Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery Systems Control Bill in parliament.

The National Informal Traders Alliance of SA (NITASA) argues that it is “not only procedurally wrong but also disregards South Africa’s democratic process and the spirit of consensus that the new government of national unity is supposed to uphold”.

Rosheda Muller, NITASA president, said the organisation wants the legislative process to start over from scratch.

“The bill wasn’t wrapped up before the last parliament ended, and now it’s being pushed through the portfolio committee on health again. This approach overlooks the fact that we have a new government and a new parliament. Most of the committee members are new and haven’t been involved in the bill’s discussions or had a chance to review the submissions, let alone participate in the public hearings,” said Muller.

Muller said the old government is now part of the GNU “where policy decisions need broader support”.

“Many parties in the GNU haven’t backed this bill before. For the department of health to just reintroduce it without support from the ANC’s GNU partners would go against the spirit of unity and could even be seen as procedurally questionable,” said Muller.

Muller said NITASA represents thousands of informal traders, hawkers, spaza shop owners and home-based operators across the country.

She said her organisation and its member organisations made written and oral submissions to the previous parliament “about the bill’s potential negative affect on informal traders”.

She said they have yet to receive any acknowledgment from the portfolio committee on health and the public hearings were never completed.

Muller said NITASA has written to Deputy President Paul Mashatile and the chairpersons of the health, finance, small business, employment and labour committees to express their “strong opposition”.

They are calling for the “bill’s development to start fresh, considering the current state of the industry, which is now largely dominated by illegal trade”.

“We believe the government needs to do more work to understand how this bill would affect informal traders. Right now, we don’t have clear answers. And with unemployment rising, the current bill doesn’t address the challenges our traders are facing in a tough economy,” Muller said.

“NITASA also recommends that before any new tobacco legislation is developed, the new portfolio committee on health should fully review all the submissions from the previous parliament to avoid repeating past mistakes. Lastly, they suggest that any new tobacco regulation should be discussed at Nedlac, ensuring all social partners have a say.”

Muller said there are about 2.2-million informal traders, hawkers, spaza shop owners and home-based operators across the country. She said if the lapsed version of the bill were to be adopted, it could seriously hurt these traders, especially since cigarettes are one of their most traded products.

“Our concerns are real and valid. Informal traders often face legislation that overlooks our voices, despite our contributions to the economy and poverty alleviation. The new parliament needs to listen to the people it represents. This is a new era in politics, and consensus is more important than ever, as President Ramaphosa has emphasised,” said Muller.

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