The economic value of free books
The Learning Lunch podcast explores ideas, approaches and social innovations – creating opportunity for non-profit organisations’ teams to discover what others are learning and space to reflect on what these insights might mean for their own strategy and programme implementation. Download takeaway instructions Owning books can change a child’s life trajectory. This is a profound […]
MEDIA STATEMENT: DGMT takes the Northern Cape Provincial Government to court over liquor laws
In a case that highlights the central role that provinces play in protecting public health and safety, lawyers for DGMT are due to appear in the Northern Cape High Court in Kimberley on Thursday, 16 October 2025, to challenge the constitutionality of sections of the Northern Cape Gambling and Liquor Act of 2024. DGMT argues […]
Op-ed: What the alcohol and advertising industries get away with
South Africa has a problem with alcohol, and I contributed to it. From 2002 to 2013, I worked in advertising, much of that time on alcohol brands for major producers and agents for international brands. In strategy sessions and pitches, I don’t recall anyone asking: “Are we adding to the alcohol problem in South Africa?” […]
ENCA Interview: South Africa’s silent crisis: Fetal Alcohol Disorder tops global rates
On World Alcohol Awareness Day, Dr Busi Kabane-Bailey, Innovation Director at DGMT, joined ENCA to highlight South Africa’s alarming rates of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder – the highest in the world, affecting one in 15 children. She explained how excessive drinking is rooted in history and reinforced by today’s aggressive alcohol marketing, and called for […]
Cheap alcohol is the problem
Business Day’s article quoting SAB CEO Richard Rivett-Carnac frames minimum unit pricing as a threat to the poor, yet the real threat is the torrent of cheap, supersized beer flooding low-income communities (“Minimum pricing on booze will fuel illegal market, says SAB boss”, August 7). Even if SAB’s own estimate is right and illicit alcohol […]
Op-ed: Liquor industry should stop feigning concern for public health and safety
The article by the CEO of the Beer Association of South Africa, Charlene Louw is a veiled admission that the business model of the liquor industry — producers and retailers — relies heavily on plying poor consumers with cheap alcohol. The consequence is an alcohol-related death rate in poorer communities that is 4½ times higher […]
Op-ed: Take the liquor industry’s claims on pricing with a fistful of salt
Late last year, National Treasury proposed the introduction of minimum unit pricing to reduce heavy drinking. There has since been a steady infusion of articles by the liquor industry claiming a sharp increase in the production and sale of illicit alcohol over the past decade, and suggesting an even more chilling effect on tax revenues if minimum […]
Netwerk24 Artikel: Vloerprys op drank nie die eintlike probleem
This article is available in English. Read more. Dis nie ’n moontlike vloerprys vir alkohol wat nadelig sal wees vir armes nie, maar die blote feit dat ’n oormaat alkoholprodukte hoegenaamd verkoop word. So reageer die DG Murray Trust (DGMT) op onlangse uitsprake deur Suid-Afrikaanse Brouerye (SAB). Richard Rivett-Carnac, uitvoerende hoof van SAB, het luidens […]
SmileFM Interview: Cheap alcohol, not price reform, is what punishes the poor
DGMT CEO, Dr David Harrison, spoke to SmileFM about dismantling the myths surrounding alcohol pricing and exposing industry tactics, making the business case for policies that curb harm and save lives. This discussion is in response to a Business Day’s article, quoting SAB CEO Richard Rivett-Carnac, framing minimum unit pricing (MUP) as a threat to […]
The Citizen Article: Hiking the price of booze is the way to go
South Africans travelling abroad are often gobsmacked by the price of booze, especially in European countries. It’s not only our weak rand at play there, it’s also the fact that governments impose high taxes on alcohol to discourage consumption. A similar thing has been proposed by Treasury and it is being fought tooth and nail […]