Are tax hikes really driving up illicit trade, or is the industry narrative just smoke and mirrors? Professor Corné van Walbeek, Director of UCT’s Research Unit on the Economics of Excisable Products (REEP), joins John Maytham to unpack key insights into why beer consumption is thriving despite tax increases, how Treasury’s tiered alcohol tax model is encouraging healthier choices, and why South Africa is losing billions each year to illicit cigarettes. It is a data-driven deep dive into the numbers, the narrative, and the policy path forward.

<p>Are tax hikes really driving up illicit trade, or is the industry narrative just smoke and mirrors? Professor Corn&eacute; van Walbeek, Director of UCT&rsquo;s Research Unit on the Economics of Excisable Products (REEP), joins John Maytham to unpack key insights into why beer consumption is thriving despite tax increases, how Treasury&rsquo;s tiered alcohol tax model is encouraging healthier choices, and why South Africa is losing billions each year to illicit cigarettes. It is a data-driven deep dive into the numbers, the narrative, and the policy path forward.</p>

John Maytham is a trained actor who made the switch to radio over 20 years ago when he joined the news team at Radio 604.

He then swapped reporting for anchoring an AM drive time show at a national talk radio station.

Once he set the bar for South African news and talk radio he accepted the challenge to join Primedia Broadcasting and help establish the newly founded CapeTalk, fulfilling the role of both News Editor and Breakfast Host.

He was the first host to switch on the mic on 14 October 1997.

Years later, he was also the first radio broadcaster to do a Google Hangout in South Africa.

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