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BusinessLive reports that the bill providing for the implementation of a tax on sugary beverages was passed by the National Assembly on Tuesday.
The measure will be introduced in April 2018 and came after extensive public hearings by Parliament’s finance and health committees as well as negotiations within the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) on an implementation plan. An interdepartmental committee consisting of the Treasury and the departments of economic development‚ agriculture‚ trade and industry and labour also worked on a mitigation strategy to limit the effects of the levy on sugary beverages. A task team will monitor the implementation of the health promotion levy to assess its effect on job losses. It will also look at a range of government programmes to provide support to the industry. The sugar industry opposed the levy on the grounds that it would contribute to the loss of jobs, but the Treasury and the Department of Health argued it was necessary to deal with obesity and the epidemic of noncommunicable diseases.
- Read this report by Linda Ensor in full at BusinessLive
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