The New Age quotes her as saying that this amount is equivalent to one percent of the country's gross domestic product. She says that the World Health Organisation estimates the annual amount of liquor consumed by South Africans at 7,81 litres of pure alcohol a year.
This puts South Africa in the 52nd place on a list of 191 countries.
This week is Sobriety Week in South Africa - but whether people will choose to remain sober for a week is a matter of pure speculation.
Independent On Line says that this week's campaign calls on South Africans to halt irresponsible consumption of alcohol. Thabethe says that public awareness and education campaigns are planned for areas were alcohol abuse is most prevalent.
