Dop system: Farmers face fines

2009-02-27 21:31

Siyabonga Kalipa

Cape Town - Western Cape farmers who pay their workers with alcohol could find themselves being fined up to a R1m if legislation passed in November last year is implemented properly.

The "dop system", where workers are paid with jugs of sweet white wine instead of money, was outlawed in 1961.

"Where the dop system still exists, it has become more underground," said National African Farmers Union (Nafu) communications officer Hanlie du Plessis.

The Western Cape Liquor Act provides authorities with the power to heavily fine farmers who use the dop system.

Western Cape MEC for Finance, Economic Development and Tourism, Garth Strachan, said the Western Cape Liquor Act clearly states that "an employer may not supply liquor to a person as an inducement to secure his or her employment, or instead of wages".

An employee may also not deduct from an employee's wages the cost of liquor supplied or withhold payment of wages in lieu of a debt in respect of the sale or supply of liquor. Any contravention of, or failure to comply with the Act could result in a fine of R1m.

Du Plessis said the Act on its own would not have an effect on the existence of the dop system - it would also have to be properly enforced.

"Communities need to stand up for themselves. They need to make the decision to break with the old habits in order for the individuals, households and ultimately the communities to become healthy again."

She said Nafu believed that the bigger estates and role players in the wine industry did not practice the dop system and that the majority of wine farmers placed priority on the well-being and upliftment of their workers.

Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) is rife in some parts of the Western Cape as a result of women who drink alcohol while pregnant.

FAS leads to learning disabilities later on in life, but is the most preventable cause of mental retardation worldwide, according to a document from the Foundation for Alcohol Related Research.

A 2003 study by the US-based National Institutes of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse found that the highest prevalence of FAS worldwide was reported among children in the wine-growing region in the Western Cape. High prevalence rates were also found in Gauteng.

- African Eye