Smoke and mirrors: Key tobacco players battle it out over commission of inquiry Updated
Nokukhanya N Mntambo
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The gloves are off for key players in the tobacco industry as the battle for the largest share of the market heats up.
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The Fair-Trade Independent Tobacco Association (Fita) has accused its competitors of dodging accountability over serious allegations levelled against them.
This comes after British American Tobacco SA (BATSA) was implicated in a damning report by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project.
The report found that the multinational smuggled billions of cigarettes through Mali to the western and north-central African regions.
High court grants Dlamini-Zuma leave to appeal adverse ruling on tobacco ban
1 Mar 2021
The high court in Cape Town on Monday granted Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma leave to appeal its December ruling that found the five-month ban on tobacco sales the state imposed last year unconstitutional and invalid. (Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The high court in Cape Town on Monday granted Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma leave to appeal its December ruling that found the five-month ban on tobacco sales the state imposed last year unconstitutional and invalid.
The decision came as little surprise after Judge Tandazwa Ndita two weeks ago told legal counsel for the minister and British American Tobacco SA (Batsa), which mounted the successful but eventually moot challenge, that there was prima facie reason to allow the matter to proceed to the supreme court of appeal.
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Cigarette war goes radioactive
Tax justice group says two of every three cigarettes sold in SA is illicit, robbing the fiscus of R8bn a year. Small tobacco manufacturers say the group is a front for Big Tobacco. 00:01
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It seems forcing smokers to get their fix illegally during the ban has normalised the act among retailers and consumers. Image: Shutterstock
A new report by Tax Justice SA (TJSA) finds that two of every three cigarettes sold in SA are illicit, making SA possibly the worldâs largest black market for cigarettes.
This is costing the fiscus R8 billion a year. A TJSA researcher visited 43 retail outlets in four different cities and in all but one of these outlets was able to buy cigarettes for less than R20 a pack.
Booze ban: Individual rights take back seat when considering collective rights
7 January 2021 10:25 AM
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Former magistrate Deon Pool says it s unlikely SAB will overturn government s alcohol ban during the current Covid-19 spike.
The past 24 hour period confirms another 21,832 Cvid-19 infections in South Africa and 844 more deaths. The recent second alcohol ban was implemented to help mitigate the spread of the virus through large alcohol-fuelled superspreader events, as well as to free the country s hospitals to better cope with Cocie-19 patients.
But the country s largest producer of beer is preparing to take government to court over this latest alcohol ban.
Is another cigarette ban on the cards after govt moves to appeal? Fita responds
702 is simulcasting The Midday Report with Mandy Wiener on CapeTalk this week.
The Western Cape High Court decision found against Regulation 45 of the laws governing the State of Disaster Management Act and declared the government s decision to ban the sale of tobacco products unconstitutional.
This week government declared its intention to appeal the ruling and this has raised concerns about another tobacco ban in South Africa, says Mandy Wiener.
Mandy talks to the chairperson at Fair-trade Independent Tobacco Association (Fita) Sinenhlanhla Mnguni to find out if this is feasible.