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3h ago
Gamema Sage
Cape Town – Long Street businesses are struggling to survive amid closure regulations that do not allow them to operate as nightclubs.
Police and law enforcement officers have searched clubs, bars and restaurants.
A business owner, who asked to remain anonymous, spoke out against police officers for “killing” businesses by constantly visiting their premises to apply for liquor licenses and failing to protect them from the gangs that rule the street.
“At one point, I thought about making a copy of my liquor license and putting it in my pocket because they come so often. Every time they visit you, they find a reason to close it. The last time they closed me down, literally two people were dancing when the police came in and took videos, ”he said.
He said he had been operating a bar and restaurant at 50% capacity, but it is difficult to control even a small group when it comes to alcohol.
“If someone dances, they don’t make the place a nightclub. The regulations don’t make sense to me. The police are making it difficult for us. We are not making money. ”
He said that he had been paying protection money to gangsters for years and that not once did the police approach him and talk to him about filing a report anonymously.
“They are a company. They come to you with an invoice. They have a tax identification number and a registration number. They bring the invoice and I pay them.
“At the confinement, I told them that I can’t give them money that I’m not earning, so I’m paying less. And besides that, we have to deal with the police who are killing our business, ”he said.
The business owner said he was arrested twice and taken to court, where he was charged with breaking regulations and trading like a nightclub for having people dance in his place.
Police spokesman Sergeant Noloyiso Rwexana said that the Cape Town Central Police Station had been conducting compliance inspections at several clubs and that some clubs were closed for non-compliance with regulations.
“In terms of Regulation (72), read with Regulation 80 (2) of the Disaster Management Act (DMA) Regulations applicable to Alert Level 1, no place can operate as a nightclub and any place that is open as nightclub commits an offense in terms of the aforementioned Regulation, ”said Rwexana.
The mayor’s safety and security committee member JP Smith said there was a lot of information about extortion.
“There are CCTV footage, business accounts, liquor license applications, as well as clues. We have a database of information, but there has been no significant attempt to manage extortion from the national government. SAPS is doing it alone, ”Smith said.
He added that he had received complaints about the operation of nightclubs.
“The clubs have numerous staff members who depend on that income. We want companies to recover, but we were wrong in legal compliance to avoid more severe lockdowns in the future, “said Smith.
Provincial Health Department spokesman Mark van der Heever said that, like nightclubs, bars also pose a risk of high infections and urged the public to make safer choices.
“As we move on with our lives, we embark on activities that carry a possible risk of infection. Gathering indoors in crowded, poorly ventilated places where social distancing cannot be maintained can lead to rapid infection through super-spreader events. Therefore, it is very important that we socialize safely, ”said Van der Heever.
MEC for Community Safety Albert Fritz said SAPS was allowed to close a facility for a period no longer than the rest of business hours that day in accordance with section 70 of the Western Cape Liquor Act (WCLA) No. 4 2008 “Since the inception of Alert Level 1, the Liquor Licensing Court has not suspended or revoked any liquor licenses,” Fritz said.
Fritz also said that anyone with information about extortion in the province, or who has been contacted to pay protection fees, can report it anonymously to the police, on the SAPS extortion hotline number 021 466 0011.
Argus weekend
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