A powerful panel discussion shed light on the root causes of underage drinking at the Eastern Cape Underage Drinking Summit held at the Abbotsford Christian Centre in East London on 28 June 2025.
From taverns operating next to schools and the lack of recreational spaces, to harmful social media trends and limited parental guidance, all were laid bare during the event.
Under the theme, “Together for Tomorrow: adopting a collective approach to mitigate and prevent the scourge of underage drinking in our communities”, the event served as a call for the province to learn from past tragedies and commit to real change.
Experts, educators, parents, and young people came together with one common goal of finding an integrative approach to dealing with the scourge and engaging in strategic conversations to alleviate it.
As part of the discussions, students came up with bold ideas, calling for impactful social media campaigns, more youth programmes during school holidays, and the creation of an anonymous hotline to report underage drinking.
“This initiative comes as the province ramps up its #NoToPensionDownParties campaign. It is a vital step towards safeguarding our youth and shaping the future leaders of our nation, as it is intended to be a strategic platform to stimulate much-desired debate on the impact of underage drinking and how to collaboratively tackle this repugnant behaviour in communities,” Eastern Cape Liquor Board spokesperson Mgwebi Msiya told the Express.
He said they are working hard on reducing availability and accessibility of alcohol to minors and on the enforcement of compliance regarding the sale of alcohol to minors.
