The Standing Committee on Finance together with the Portfolio Committee on Health have welcomed inputs on the Rates and Monetary Amounts and Amendment of Revenue Laws Bill by civil society organisations and industry leaders during a joint public hearing on Tuesday.
The Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Finance, Mr Yunus Carrim, said: “The inputs were empowering and produced overwhelming scientific evidence to strengthen the argument that the move by government to impose tax on sugary drinks is long overdue.”
Members of the Committees viewed the statistics on people living with sugar diabetes, which was presented by Dr Ankia Coetzee of the Society for Endocrinology, Metabolism and Diseases of South Africa (SEMDSA) as another reason that makes introduction of the Bill an absolute necessity.
In her presentation, Dr Coetzee pointed out that about 9.8% of South Africa’s adult population live with diabetes, the majority of them women. She also said that the country has seen an increase of obese people to nine million in 2017, saying 20% of the increase was due to sugary drinks.
The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Health, Ms Mary-Ann Dunjwa, reiterated on the need for all stakeholders to engage further on how unintended consequences of a sugar tax, such as job losses in the sugar industry, could be mitigated.
“It is good that our discussion is not about whether or not the sugary tax should be imposed, but rather more on the modalities. The industry should understand that a legislation to tax sugary drinks is not a punitive measure, but one of the instruments to promote health,” said Ms Dunjwa.
Justice Molafo
8 June 2017
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