Chairperson, I want to welcome the statement by the hon Mabaso, on the National Liquor Regulators' Forum Awareness Campaign.
As many hon members would know, we have an extremely high level of alcohol abuse in this country. It doesn't matter whether this is measured by the fact that one in ten children who are born in De Aar are affected by foetal alcohol syndrome, or by the fact that nearly half of all unnatural deaths, be they motor accidents or murders, are caused by people who had abnormally high levels of alcohol in their blood.
The campaign is motivated by the proposition that the more effective enforcement of laws and regulations governing the production and distribution of liquor would make a contribution. Ahead of the launch of the campaign, the liquor regulators conducted a blitz in the Free State. They visited only 29 premises and made seven arrests, they closed five premises and confiscated 6 000 litres of illegal alcohol. This points to an unacceptably high level of disregard for our basic rules and regulations.
So the campaign is aimed at tightening this up. It is premised on the proposition that the regulators can't do this alone and that we need the communities to be involved, by identifying the problems and contacting the regulators and the police. I would encourage members of Parliament also to be involved in this campaign which will be taking itself to all the other provinces of the country in the period between now and March next year. I thank you very much.