A liquor store owner is under investigation for allegedly keeping the IDs of farmworkers until their debts were settled.
|||Cape Town - A Worcester liquor store owner is under investigation for allegedly keeping personal documents of farmworkers as security until their debts were settled.
The Western Cape government said on Tuesday SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) cards, IDs and bank cards had been found during a search of the premises by the Liquor Authority and police on Friday.
The owner has not been arrested.
If found guilty under the new Liquor Act, he could be fined R500 000 or face two years’ imprisonment.
Organisations working with farmworkers have said the practice is widespread because of poverty.
The Liquor Authority alerted police after receiving a tip-off from a resident about a trader selling alcohol to local farmworkers and keeping their Sassa cards, IDs and bank cards as payment security.
Authorities on would not disclose details of the bottlestore owner or where the incidents occurred as the case is still being investigated.
Finance, Economic Development and Tourism MEC Alan Winde said a number of items had been confiscated during the raid.
“Liquor Authority inspectors and police found 58 identity documents, 14 Sassa cards and bank cards with the relevant pin numbers.
“During the search, a farmworker came to collect her Sassa card and police obtained an affidavit from her. Her card was returned,” he said.
Winde urged authorities to “exercise the full might of the law” against the trader if he was found guilty.
“This is one example of how unscrupulous traders are taking advantage of vulnerable communities. We are sending out a clear warning to irresponsible traders that their behaviour won’t be tolerated” he said.
The Liquor Authority’s chief executive, Thys Giliomee, said the matter had been reported to Sassa.
The public should report “this kind of irresponsible trading” to the Liquor Authority and the police, Giliomee said.
Advocating for the rights of farmworkers, Women on Farms spokeswoman Colette Solomon said most farmworkers lived in debt as they were forced to live and work in poor economic conditions.
“We’ve heard of this practice many times. (It is perpetrated) Not only for alcohol, but for daily necessities like vegetables as well. These workers are often reluctant to give us the names of these people keeping their papers so these cases fall through the cracks,” she said.
Food and Allied Workers Union general secretary Katishi Masemola condemned the common practice “which is used to enslave vulnerable workers”.
Cape Times