Liquor - The City of Cape Mayor, Patricia de Lille, poured more than 5000 bottles of alcohol confiscated on beaches this holiday season down the drain at an Ndabeni storage area. The 2600 litres of confiscated alcohol were worth R66000. The haul of alcohol included cases of beer, ciders, brandy and champagne. Liquor is banned on all Cape Town beaches, but people persist in taking their alcohol to drink on beaches or other public spaces. Law enforcement officers will patrol the beaches over the festive season to try and curb the consequences of drinking illegally. The public is encouraged to support legal, liquor licensed businesses to enjoy liquor of their choice. (Article by New Age, edited by LiquorWise)

A policeman, in uniform, forced an an elderly couple from Johannesburg to pay R75 for a meal they say they couldn’t eat at a seafood restaurant in Kwazulu-Natal. They were told to either pay – or be arrested. Legal experts, with whom LiquorWise concurs, say that the SAP should never have been called to settle a civil dispute between the parties. The SAP should only act in case of a possible criminal offence having been committed or threatened to be committed. The KZN Liquor Act does not apply in such cases, but the legislation ruling criminal offences do. The couple said they were “horrified” by the abuse they allegedly received after they had complained about the quality of the food to the management of the Crayfish Inn restaurant in Ramsgate, They were allegedly verbally abused by the managers and were forced to pay for a meal that had been overcooked and dry. The couple, the Stiffs, visited the restaurant three weeks ago while holidaying on the South Coast. “Fran ordered a main course of grilled dorado. However… her dorado was overcooked and dried out.” Stiff claimed the co-owner flew into a temper on hearing their complaints. “He then told my wife and I that regardless of whether we ate the fish or not, we would pay for the fish, which cost around R75.” The couple stood up and headed for the front door but were blocked by another of the restaurant owners. “He pushed me around and told me to go back to my table and pay for what I had ordered. There was nothing I could do as I am 78 and I am on crutches, so I was defenceless,” said Peter Stiff. The owners summoned the police, who told the couple to pay for the meal they had ordered or be arrested. The owners of the Crayfish Inn confirmed they’d called the police after the couple refused to pay for their meal. “Neither the staff nor management laid a hand on the couple,” said manager Johnson Shou. “Neither did we verbally abuse either of them.” Shou said the couple had complained consistently from the moment they sat down. Although she said that the restaurant had attended to every complaint and offered them free meals, they just refused to pay. “If the consumers felt threatened or were abused in any way by the police they can report this to the Independent Complaints Directorate,” said Bianca Coelho Barata of law firm Goldman Judin Inc. Barata urged consumers to report restaurants to the National Consumer Forum should they be unhappy with the treatment they receive. Ramsgate police did not respond to numerous requests for comment. (Article by Independent on Saturday, edited by LiquorWise)

In South Africa, as in many other parts of the world, Sunday liquor sales are always a much disputed talking point. When the Free State Liquor Act was launched last year, it catered for Sunday trading by liquor stores. Just as Free Staters were getting use to this, the regulations were amended and Sunday trading is no longer allowed! It may be of interest to South African consumers and liquor store owners to read about the perception of the public and traders in Grand Rapids, a county in the US state of Michigan. We at LiquorWise were surprised how much the reaction of the folks in Grand Rapids concurred with the feedback we received last year from the Free State public and liquor store owners. Dudley Larson, a liquor store owner in Grand Rapids, said that he didn’t have much choice but to open Sunday mornings. "I’d rather be closed, but everyone else is doing it, so you have to do it and I would be losing money otherwise," said Larson, owner of Dudley’s Party Store. “The sales have been ok”. Michigan Liquor Control Commission statistics show Larson is in good company with his decision to sell alcohol on Sunday mornings. The State has allowed Sunday sales before noon since December 2011 in terms of an annual $160 permit. They could previously only sell on Sundays after 12h00. 5,974 businesses now have Sunday morning sales permits. Data from the Michigan Liquor Control Commission shows that across the state, In Kent County, 281 places have Sunday morning permits, compared to 575 with Sunday afternoon permits. In Ottawa County, 88 businesses are permitted to sell on Sunday morning, while 178 have the afternoon permits. Statewide, the Sunday morning permits have generated $950,000 for the state. "It’s been a success," said Justin Hermiz, owner of Fulton Party Store at 734 Fulton St., near National Avenue. "We open at 10 a.m. instead of noon." Hermiz said the sales offset the $160 fee and employee costs. "After a couple of Sundays, you have your money back," he said. "You’re going to profit. There’s no way you can’t." But for Larry Lawrence, owner of B & B Liquor Store on 28th Street SE near Breton Road, the potential profits are not worth it. He would rather stick with tradition and give his employees a break on Sunday morning. "I would never ask any of my employees to work it," he said. He says people already have lots of opportunity to buy alcohol. "Do you have to be selling booze 24 hours a day?," he asked. "It just doesn’t seem necessary. They have Saturday night up until 2 a.m." Lawrence said that he considers the $160 permit fee a money grab for the state, particularly since liquor stores already pay a separate fee for selling Sunday afternoons. "It seems to me if you pay one license for Sunday, that should be enough," he said. Paul DeBartolo, owner of Bottlenecks, said some people still don’t know that stores are allowed to sell alcohol on Sunday mornings. A couple of customers who came into his store last Sunday were surprised to hear about the change. Bottlenecks opens at 9 a.m. on Sunday mornings, he said, mostly because it offers convenience to those who want it. The law allows sales as early as 7 a.m. "I can’t say it’s been a huge increase in sales," he said. "But it’s good for the people who want to buy alcohol." (Article in GRPress, edited by LiquorWise)

The Moratorium The moratorium (six month-ban) on the issuing of liquor licences in Gauteng was instituted unilaterally by MEC Mahlangu on 8 August 2011. Considering that Gauteng is the economic hub of South Africa (producing some 70% of its GDP), many businesses reacted to the news as an April’s Fool joke. They quickly realised that April had long gone! The province’s liquor board’s doors were shut to licence applications and according to Gauteng’s director of liquor Max Mothlake, they were to stay shut until well into 2012. Why a Moratorium? The Liquor Board wanted to use the moratorium to end the backlog of pending licence applications. The other big factor was that the corruption game at the board was fake licences. “If falsified licences weren’t being printed by corrupt staff internally they were being printed externally in collusion with staff members,” says Mothlake, who in March was charged with fixing the shambles. Reaction from Government MEC Mahlangu apologised for the “unforeseen” result of the moratorium on the Classic Government radio programme. She indicated that the necessity of the moratorium will be reviewed in October 2011. Reaction from Business Mr Brett Dungan(Fedhasa CEO) requested that burocratic hindrances be removed to allow business to grow. Less business activity means less tax, which impairs government (including The Liquor Board) from doing its job. Was (is) it Legal? The Application to Court Two separate applications were submitted and argued during September 2011 in the North Gauteng High Court in an effort to declare the moratorium illegal. Regrettably for business, they were unsuccessful by reason of technical legalities. However, this was enough to stop any further costly challenges by business. Effect on Business In General The applicants to court presented evidence of estimates that they will lose up to R350 000 per month due to the moratorium. This is due to the loss of liquor sales, as well as the public supporting licensed restaurants. The Moratorium has also brought development in Gauteng’s hospitality market to a halt. Sales of businesses involving liquor licences are frozen and opening of new establishments halted. Some active businesses have been waiting two years for their permanent licences. All functions requiring a temporary liquor licence (“occasional permit”) will not be able to serve liquor. Pretoria University’s annual spring day festival was cancelled because the organisers could not secure a liquor licence. Franchise Groups Keg Franchise - Food and restaurant franchise conglomerate Famous Brands’ efforts to revamp its Keg pub brand have been stymied by the Gauteng Liquor Board’s decision to freeze all new liquor licence applications until next year. Famous Brands bought 28 Keg and five McGinty’s franchised outlets from Kingco in late 2010 in a R27m deal that added a leisure component to the company’s mainly fast food offering. At the time Famous brands conceded the Keg brand needed “renovation and innovation”, but plans for a revamp have been put on hold. Famous Brands CEO Kevin Hedderwick says a newly re-branded Keg in Johannesburg’s northern suburbs, which is central to plans to convince franchise holders to convert to a new trading format, cannot open its doors until the board lifts the moratorium on applications for new liquor licences. Hedderwick says developments are most frustrating. “We’d love to show our franchisees how good the new look for the Keg is ... We wanted to show them where the new brand is headed.” Instead Famous Brands is lumped with a lease that has to be serviced and has incurred development costs with no way of generating cash flows. Hedderwick is hopeful the board will reopen applications in early February. However, the end of the moratorium in early February will begin with a phased reopening of licence applications — which means it might still be a long wait before first round is called in the new-look Keg. Spur Franchise group - “We planned to open up to 10 restaurants each with 60 staff before the end of the year,” says Spur Corp MD Pierre van Tonder. “Without liquor licences it’s impossible.” SAB Miller - Egoli region GM Leonard Volschenk says Gauteng liquor board estimates suggest there are 10000 fraudulent liquor licences in the province. About 15000 legitimate licences have been issued. Volschenk points to the problem SAB faces in supplying liquor outlets with suspect licences. “Only the liquor board [can] confirm whether a licence is valid and it has been unwilling to engage in a verification process,” he says. Some light on the Liquor Licensing Horizon ? The sixth-month liquor licence moratorium on temporary(occasional) liquor licences is to be lifted from 17 November. The moratorium on new liquor licences remains in place, economic development MEC Qedani Mahlangu told reporters on 15 November. She said stringent measures had been introduced to curb the issuing of fraudulent licences. The Moratorium had allowed the department to improve its efficiency and to solve problems relating to the liquor licensing process. These included the issuing of fraudulent documents. “Stringent measures have been introduced to curb the issuing of fraudulent licences [and] to date we are confident that no fraudulent licences have been issued,” Mahlangu said. The department was about halfway through dealing with a backlog of about 2450 applications. A new IT and business processing system had been designed to handle applications and would be in place for occasional and catering permits from Thursday. She said liquor licence renewals for 2011/12 would begin on 1 December 2011. Don’t get too excited Businesses hoping for normality to be restored next February 8 should prepare themselves for more frustration. The moratorium’s end will not result in the liquor board’s doors being opened in a business-as-usual way. It will be a phased reopening. “We don’t want to be flooded by an unmanageable volume of applications,” says Mothlake Have the floodgates been opened? The question on many people’s lips are whether the success enjoyed by the Gauteng Liquor Board now sets a precedent for any of the remaining 8 provinces to follow suit? The answer wasn’t long to be forthcoming – North West province announced a moratorium on tavern licence applications soon after the moratorium was unsuccessfully challenged in the Gauteng High Court. All have gone quiet from the other provinces for now, but don’t be surprised if the silence doesn’t last very long – the new Western Cape Liquor Act and the Kwazulu Natal Liquor Act will be implemented in 2012. Watch this space!

VICTORIAN kids are getting drunk on alcohol sachets ordered from overseas websites for as little as 25c a shot. Community workers have slammed the Chinese and South African websites selling the bags, containing liquor, including vodka, rum and gin, to Australians without any identification checks. The Sunday Herald Sun found at least four websites that offered to post the bagged cocktails to Australian addresses. One South African company was offering boxes of 40 sachets at 25c per 25ml shot. Another Chinese company offered flavoured alco bags and boasted targeting customers worldwide. Salvation Army community officer Brendan Nottle said it was frightening that kids had unrestricted access to alcohol online. "We have dealt with kids caught up in it," Mr Nottle said. "It is a real danger because one of the issues kids face is they do not know what is in the substances they are buying." The alcohol sachets have surfaced in the same month the Victorian Government tried to crack down on a legal loophole that allowed parents to provide alcohol to children. People could face $7000 in fines from November 1, for giving kids liquor, even if it is drunk on private property and parental permission is given. The Dalgarno Institute in Dandenong commended the new law, but renewed the call for the legal drinking age to be increased to 21 and a crackdown on the sites. Director Shane Varcoe said raising the legal age limit was a taboo subject, but it had proved to be a successful tactic in other countries. "People say drinking is part of our culture, but so is abuse of women and we don't tolerate that," Mr Varcoe said. "This is evidence-based - a higher drinking age has an impact on binge drinking and it is immediate. "We are not prohibitionist, but the later we offset the start of drinking the better." (Article from Sunday Herald Sun, edited by LiquorWise)

South Africa deliberated long and hard about regulating and legalizing online gambling and decided against the idea. The country even sent a group of officials to Antigua and Barbuda to observe the system the tiny island nation has in place. Now Rob Davies who is the South African Minister of Trade and Industry has issued a statement that warns the consumer of online gambling products that playing games on the internet for real money is illegal and should be avoided. The Minister also said that there is the possibility that banks may ask questions about winning from online gambling sources. A recent review by the Gambling Review Commission said the past time should be allowed and the operators should be given licenses but as the law stands to date internet wagering is still illegal in South Africa. Davies continued, "If you're a South African and you participate in online gambling and you win, your winnings are the proceeds of an illegal activity," A ruling by the Northern Gauteng High Court that made it illegal for online gambling sites to offer their services in South Africa. He pointed out that, "Unless or until we take a decision that we run a license and in what form and what way - I think it will be a subject of a massive debate if we do indeed decide to go this route. I think everyone needs to know that they must not engage in this activity." The minister in his address said he was trying to protect the South African consumer. "Among ordinary people, gambling is promoted as a life-changing possibility, including the Lotto ... when in fact anyone that goes in with that presumption is going to be sadly disappointed.” adding, "If you want to play these games, you must be prepared to take the entertainment value. If that's entertainment, and you must be prepared to lose, because the only consistent winnings are [for] the people who run the operations," (Article by Online-Casinos.com – Edited by Liquorwise)

Robyn Chalmers, SAB head of media and communications, told Business Day recently that "SAB shares the concern of government regarding the unacceptable level of alcohol abuse in SA and we look forward to working with government to put measures in place to fight the abuse of alcohol." Chalmers said it was "not the company’s intention to encourage those who do not drink to do so, but rather, through responsible advertising, to provide consumers with the right information to make their brand choices. Advertising is also a primary tool to promote free and fair trade, and is essential to fostering innovation and product development. Without advertising, market entry is impeded and brand competition is undermined". Priscilla Singh, corporate and brand PR manager at Brandhouse — sponsors of the J&B Met horseracing event — said Brandhouse supported the enforcement of laws and heavier penalties as opposed to "ineffective advertising bans. There is good reason to believe that if alcohol advertising were completely eliminated, it would merely engender the ‘forbidden fruit syndrome’, and have the counterproductive effect of enticing young people to experiment with alcohol." Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi replied : "When you market a commodity you are saying people must buy into it. And we are saying the marketing of all those (alcohol) products is causing a problem in social, in health and in any other sphere of life." SAB has sponsorship deals with the national teams of the country’s biggest sporting codes — soccer, rugby and cricket — as well as the under-21 regional soccer league and the Fish and Duzi canoe races. It is also a supplier sponsor to Premier Soccer League outfits Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates and the Super Rugby competition. (Business Day article – edited by LiquorWise)

The Moratorium - The moratorium (six month-ban) on the issuing of liquor licences in Gauteng has already caused substantial financial loss to businesses, especially those in the accommodation and entertainment industry. The Liquor Board wants to use the moratorium to end the backlog of pending licence applications. Some active businesses have been waiting two years for their permanent licences. All functions requiring a temporary liquor licence (“occasional permit”) will not be able to serve liquor. Pretoria University's annual spring day festival was cancelled because the organisers could not secure a liquor licence. The Application to Court - An application will be heard on 20 September in the North Gauteng High Court to declare the moratorium illegal. The applicants are four restaurants who estimate that they will lose up to R350 000 per month due to the moratorium. This is due to the loss of liquor sales, as well as the public supporting licensed restaurants. An earlier court application to declare the moratorium illegal was dismissed, but on other grounds as those on which the new application is based. Reaction from Government - MEC Mahlangu apologised for the “unforeseen” result of the moratorium on the Classic Government radio programme. She indicated that the necessity of the moratorium will be reviewed in October 2011. Reaction from Business - Mr Brett Dungan(Fedhasa CEO) requested that burocratic hindrances be removed to allow business to grow. Less business activity means less tax, which impairs government(including The Liquor Board) from doing its job. (Summary of News24 article)

Die Burger berig dat die omstrede konsepvoorstelle oor drankverkope laatnag en op Sondae in die Stellenbosch-omgewing weer bekyk gaan word. Die nuwe DA-beheerde stadsraad van Stellenbosch sal die konsepvoorstelle wat die vorige stadsraad goedgekeur het, ernstig heroorweeg en verwelkom die insette van die gemeenskap daaroor, sê mnr. Conrad Sidego, nuutverkose burgemeester.

Sidego het gister by navraag gesê die stadsraad is baie bewus van die diepe kommer wat voorstelle dat drank nie op Sondae verkoop mag word nie in veral die toerismebedryf veroorsaak.“Ons is deeglik bewus daarvan dat ons ’n toerismedorp in die middel van die wynlande is en hierdie stadsraad sal geen besluit neem wat die dorp, sy beeld of sy inkomste sal skaad nie.

“Daar is geen rede om opgeklits te raak nie – nugtere oorweging sal aan die kwessie gegee word,” het Sidego gesê. Vrese bestaan dat talle restaurante, veral dié op landgoedere, hul deure sal moet sluit as drankverbruik in restaurante in en om Stellenbosch op Sondae verbied word.

’n Plaaslike toerismeorganisasie win trouens reeds regsadvies in oor die kwessie. So ’n “belaglikheid” sou ’n “verleentheid” vir die gebied wees en kan verreikende gevolge hê vir die ekonomie van die gewildste wyngebied van Suid-Afrika, is aan Rapport gesê oor die konsepbesluit.

Die besluit, wat voorlopig geneem is na gelang van die impak van provinsiale wetgewing, sou nie net die verkoop en bedien van wyn op Sondae in restaurante in die dorp en op landgoedere verbied het nie, maar sluit ook ’n verbod op kroeë in om saans ná 23:00 alkohol te verkoop. Die verordening kon in elk geval nie finaal deur die stadsraad aanvaar word voordat die voorgestelde provinsiale konsepwetgewing, die Wes-Kaapse Drankwysigingswetsontwerp, in werking tree nie.

Dié wetsontwerp word tans deur die provinsiale regering hersien. Die aanvaarding van ’n Stellenbosse drank-verordening, soos die vorige stadsraad voorgestel het, sal ’n verlammende invloed op die ekonomie van die gebied hê omdat wyntoerisme 25% van die bruto ekonomiese produk hier uitmaak, sê me. Annareth Bolton, uitvoerende hoof van die toerismeorganisasie Stellenbosch Wynroetes.

Van die land se toprestaurante, wat gereeld die Eat Out-wenlys haal, is in dié gebied geleë.Sondae is van die gewildste kuierdae, sê Bolton. “Dis die dag waarop sowel plaaslike as buitelandse toeriste die wyngebied die graagste besoek om sy kos en wyn te geniet. Dit maak wynplase, restaurante en wynkelders van die grootste werkverskaffers hier.”

Bolton sê Wynroetes is in gesprek met hul regsverteenwoordiger, ’n kenner op die gebied van dranklisensiëring. Volgens mnr. Beyers Truter, eienaar van die landgoed Beyerskloof buite Stellenbosch, sal dit kortsigtig wees om die voorstel van die vorige stadsraad deur te voer en sal dit die restaurant- en toerismemark hier doodmaak.

Sapa reported that South Africa's first high court test to determine the reliability of the German Dräger Alcotest equipment in drunk driving prosecutions was heard during the past week. It featured cross-examination of Drager expert, Jurgen Sohege in the Western Cape high court. His testimony was of a highly technical nature, about the analysis of gases in a drinker's exhaled breath, in order to measure the level of alcohol vapour.The results are immediate, as apposed to the months taken to forensically analyse blood samples for drunk driving prosecutions. The test case arose after alleged drunk driver Clifford Joseph Hendricks challenged the validity and accuracy of the Dräger apparatus used during his arrest last year. His alcohol vapour count was 0,95mg. The maximum allowed is 0,24.Hendricks's legal aid defence team comprises senior counsels Derek Mitchell and Paul Hoffman, and advocates Morney Calitz and William King. Mitchell is dealing with the technical aspects of the equipment and Hoffman with the constitutional aspects of the matter. Calitz and King deal with the merits of the case - whether Hendricks is guilty as charged, and whether he was the driver of the vehicle in question. Hendricks claims he was not the driver when the car screeched to a halt next to a police patrol vehicle. Sohege said the equipment gave two individual readings, as required in some countries. He agreed with Mitchell that if one rinsed one's mouth with alcohol, without the prior consumption of liquor, one's breath would be strong with liquor without affecting the blower's ability to drive. Sohege added: "For the alcohol to affect one's ability to drive, it has to first reach the brain, via the blood and not the breath." Mitchell said his cross-examination would deal with blood as well as breath. The case continues ...

The Bo-Kaap Civic Association has now formally objected to the application for a liquor licence by the operators of the Hilton hotel, situated on the borders of the predominantly Muslim community. Bo-Kaap residents are unhappy about the establishment of the new hotel, who was formerly the Coral International, the first ‘dry' hotel in Cape Town. Community members have handed a petition to police in which they have raised their concerns, said association chairperson Osman Shabodien. "The objections have been handed over in accordance to the procedure of objecting to a liquor license. I think our main challenge now is the next step forward because the liquor board may rule in favour of the Hilton obtaining a liquor license which will mean we, as the residents, will have to protest," he said. Shabodien added that his gripe goes further than the issue of the hotel going from being the only ‘dry hotel' in the city to a liquor-selling hotel. He said it was rather the fact that the original owners were Muslim and gave the community of Bo-Kaap their word. He said these owners are now avoiding the Bo-Kaap association and are trying to shrug off responsibility. "Surely the owners of the Coral had an obligation to tell the Hilton about the agreement with the Bo-Kaap residents. The onus is also on the previous owners to have straightened out the agreement of a dry hotel. And they should have urged the Hilton to meet with the community to discuss these matters. They should have engaged with us." Shabodien said he is calling on the owners of the building to come forward and resolve this issue instead of "leaving this mess in Bokaap." He added that this situation is most unfortunate as the residents saw the development of a high end hotel in the area as advantageous and as a means of job creation as well as a boost for tourism. "When the developments started we made it quite clear that the hotel would be on the gateway of Bokaap, but now the game plan has now changed because people are now claiming the Bokaap area only starts from Rose Street which is not entirely true. Now there is an onslaught of businesses vying to apply for liquor licenses in that street. All we want is to make Bokaap a dry area. Pinelands and Fishhoek could do it, why can't we?" he asked. VOC (Mishqa Rossier)

Bizcommunity.com reported the following : There is good news for those who like a tipple - brewing company SAB has decided to keep its own average price increase in line with inflation at 4.5%, despite the government's announcement of a 7.5% increase in excise on beer being higher than the projected inflation rate for 2011.As a result, weighted average beer prices for consumers would increase 6.5%, with the remaining 2% being the net effect of the excise change, SAB said. "SAB's increase is in line with the company's efforts to keep consumer prices affordable and within inflationary levels. The increase takes effect from today, 23 February," it said. SAB added it was committed to continue engaging with the government on the development of a fair and efficient excise tax regime. This is in line with an announcement made by government last year to normalise excise rates within the liquor industry and bring them in line with international benchmarks. SA's excise on beer is ahead of the international average. The beer industry currently pays excise and VAT as a percentage of the selling price of beer at more than 33%, while independent research in 38 countries shows the international average to be only 29%. In SA, the excise and VAT burden on beer, which has the lowest alcohol content of all liquor products, was out of line with the international trend towards higher excise rates for liquor products  

SALTA(SA Liquor Traders Association) will host an urgent Imbizo in the Johannesburg City Hall on 19 May to discuss various issues facing its members. Subsequent to the meeting, they plan to meet with the Gauteng Legislature to engage on issues to : 1. Stop the current wave of police raids on their members; 2. Challenge the zoning and consent use requirements by municipalities and liquor boards; 3. Suspend certain section of the liquor act which make it difficult to trade; 4. Compel the Soccer World Cup organisers to allow members unconditional participation.

Gareth Wilson of the National News reported that the owner of controversial Port Elizabeth nightclub Redemption 2.0, which came under the spotlight when DJ Keith Reed plunged five metres to his death two weeks ago, has opened a case of fraud against a Kini Bay business consultancy which was allegedly contracted to obtain the liquor licence. Police confirmed that a case of fraud had been opened at the Walmer police station on Monday by nightclub co-owner Jonathan Reebein. “Reebein made a statement and opened a case of fraud with the assistance of his lawyer,” she said. “Details are still sketchy as the case must still be investigated, but apparently the co-owners contracted a third party to deal with their liquor licence application.” A police source close to the investigation said the nightclub owner claimed to have contracted the Kini Bay business consultancy to deal with the liquor licence, but it had not done so. “The owners allegedly paid the consultancy about R24 000 to obtain a liquor licence,” the source said. The police official said it would take anything up to three or four weeks just for the application to be processed. “The detective must establish whether the application was filed, which will ultimately show if the case has grounds or not,” the source said. Municipal spokesman Kupido Baron said the club had not been certified by the municipality to operate as an entertainment venue. Source: The Herald

Justin Lawrence of Retail News reportes that local restaurants and night clubs could be forced to close early if Buffalo City Municipality approves a bylaw for liquor trading hours. Restaurants, pubs, hotels and night clubs may have to cease trading at 11pm on weekdays and 2am at the weekend should the bylaw be passed. The final draft of the bylaw will not be submitted to council for approval until after the public participation process has been finalised. Last year the Eastern Cape Liquor Board unsuccessfully attempted to limit all liquor trading hours to 10pm on weekdays and midnight on weekends. Current legislation In terms of an agreement on trading hours made in the Grahamstown High Court last year, night clubs can operate until 4am at weekends and remain open until 2am during the week. But now they could be forced into closing earlier. Restaurants, pubs and hotels currently operate until midnight during the week and at weekends. As restaurants, pubs and hotels are being grouped together with night clubs in the proposed schedule, they could be given an extra two hours at the weekend, but an earlier closure during the week. Local attorney Andre Schoombee said there was a grey area regarding trading times at present, but commended the municipality for drafting the proposed bylaw. “There is actually no proper regulation following that court case, but it's good news that they are trying to do something,” said Schoombee. Mixed reactions Owner of Buccaneers Sports Pub and Grill Harold Godard said he would oppose closing at 2am. “Our licence is for 4am. We have a special licence which allows that, although generally we do close at 2am on the weekend,” he said. Food and beverage manager at the Gonubie Hotel Mark Iveson said there was confusion surrounding the trading times, but he welcomed the late weekend closure. “We usually close by midnight. If we could stay open until 2am on the weekend it would definitely help us, particularly in booking live entertainment,” he said. Daryn Mildenhall, manager of the Numbers night club, said he could not imagine a scenario where his club would have to close early. Mildenhall said: “I foresee a lot of venues being affected by this. An early closure would definitely have an effect on us.” Source: Daily Dispatch