Stakeholder narratives on alcohol governance in the Western Cape: the socio-spatial ‘nuisance’ of drink

Abstract

This paper examines, on one hand, the current regulatory environment in relation to alcohol retailing and consumption in South Africa's Western Cape. On the other, it explores how stakeholders of such regulations formulate, comprehend and act upon the ‘problem’ of drinking. As a result, the paper aims to tease out the discrepancies between what is said (of alcohol by policy-makers) and what is done (about alcohol within policy) through the conceptual lens of alcohol as ‘nuisance’. It does this in order to: (1) deepen current empirical engagements with alcohol control policies in South Africa and the Global South; (2) explore what stakeholders ‘know’ or believe about the drinking practices that they seek to regulate and (3) highlight the dynamic tensions between what is said and what is done. In so doing, the paper contributes novel empirical data to the growing cannon of geographical engagements with drinking practices and policies by situating its analysis in the context of the Western Cape. As a result, the paper marks out an original contribution to the multidisciplinary field of critical alcohol studies, as well as South African geographical research.

Keywords::

• alcohol control
• governance
• policy
• interviews
• public health

Acknowledgements

The research support for this paper was provided by ESRC–DfID grant number RES-167-25-0473 and a British Academy – Association of Commonwealth Universities research award. The opinions expressed are the author's own.

Notes

^1. It is worth noting that the passage of the WCLA and municipal by-laws is inextricably linked to the political landscape of the Province. The Western Cape was ANC-led (in coalition with the New National Party) after the 2004 elections, with the City of Cape Town held by the DA. The WCLA was first tabled by the ANC and, during the run up to the 2008 Provincial elections, it became a talisman for the DA's election campaign. The DA won the elections and now controls the province and municipality, granting them control over both scales of alcohol regulation (see Lawhon & Herrick, 2013).

^2. It is interesting that stakeholder perceptions of the importance of noise and public urination for local residents were far less than were found to be the case when perceptions for focus groups with residents were conducted as part of the broader research project. This speaks directly of Valverde's relational conception of nuisance, especially in the sense of certain areas of cities, or certain populations being able to (culturally) tolerate differing levels of nuisance.