The high unemployment rate and poverty are the primary reasons residents in the Eastern Cape have rejected the Tobacco Products and Electronic Delivery System Bill. The portfolio committee held three public hearings in the province and heard contrasting views on the Bill. The hearings are part of a nationwide public participation process to garner citizens’ views on the Bill and have already taken place in North West, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Free State, Gauteng and now the Eastern Cape.
For Ms Nomfusi Kotsele, a member of the Katala cooperative in Butterworth, the implementation of the Bill will cripple their once-growing business and drive them back into poverty. Their cooperative moved from growing vegetables to tobacco leaves because their vegetables kept getting stolen, which made it impossible to make a profit.
“When we were producing vegetables, me and my family were staying in a one-roomed mud house but immediately when we started producing tobacco leaf, I was able to build myself a beautiful six-roomed house. I was also able to take my children to school so that they can have a better future than I had. Our cooperative is also able to provide job opportunities for the youth in our area,” Ms Kotsele said.
Ms Kotsele also emphasised that the proliferation of illicit cigarettes in the market has harmed their business. One of their major concerns is that the Bill will lead to overregulation, which will benefit the illicit market and further deprive the state of the tax revenues.
“The prohibition of the sale of tobacco during the Covid-19-imposed lockdown increased the market share of illicit cigarettes. As a result, one major tobacco industry company that used to buy tobacco from us stopped and we now don’t have an income. This Bill will eradicate the little hope that we have that business will increase again and enable us to make a living,” Ms Kotsele emphasised.
She further argued that as the result of the current lack of business from that company, they are now living in poverty again. She said she cannot support a Bill that will further entrench poverty in her household. “This hunger is the reason why I have to reject this Bill,” Ms Kotsele emphasised.
The committee welcomed the input from citizens and emphasised that every input, for or against the Bill, entrenches the culture of meaningful public participation. “We are thankful to every person that made their contributions, whether oral or written, and those inputs will be given full consideration. We also appreciate the number of people who came out to make their views on the Bill. This is democracy in action and we are confident that the hearings met the standard of meaningful public participation,” said the Chairperson of the committee, Dr Kenneth Jacobs.
The Bill seeks to strengthen public health protection measures, align South African tobacco-control law with the World Health Organisations Framework Convention, and repeal the Tobacco Control Act, 1993 (Act No. 83 of 1993).
The proposed legislative and policy changes seek to introduce the following:
- indoor public places and certain outdoor areas will be designated 100 per cent smoke-free;
- a ban on the sale of cigarettes through vending machines;
- plain packaging with graphic health warnings and pictorials;
- a ban on display at point of sale; and
- the regulation and control of electronic nicotine delivery systems and non-nicotine delivery systems.
The next provincial hearings will be held in the Western Cape on the weekend of 9 to 11 February 2024. The committee will then hold hearings in KwaZulu-Natal and Northern Cape from 16 to 18 February and 1 to 3 March 2024 respectively.
Malatswa Molepo
29 January 2024
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