Bronkhorstspruit Police meet with tavern and shebeen owners

The police held a meeting to discuss the challenges around taverns and shebeens.

The meeting took place on Thursday, August 18 at the police station in Bronkhorstspruit.

The Liquor Traders Association also attended the meeting.

With the ever-increasing incidents of business robberies and the brutal killing of customers inside taverns, the station commander, Col Maqhawe Simon Dhladhla, deemed it necessary to have a discussion with tavern and shebeen owners in the area.

This follows the incident at the Enyobeni tavern in Gqeberha (East London) on June 26 in which 21 people, mostly teenagers, lost their lives during a celebration of ‘hlanjwa iphepha’, a tradition in South Africa that celebrates the end of school exams.

The selling of liquor to underaged people was one of the topics on the agenda at the Bronkhorstspruit meeting.

The severity of the contributions of alcohol consumption to cases of domestic violence was also tackled during the discussions.

The terms and conditions of legal liquor licences for the liquor trade formed part of the meeting.

The Liquor Traders Association stated that if tavern owners experience any disaster or serious killings around their area of jurisdiction, tavern owners must help one another and cooperate with the Police and the Community Policing Forum (CPF).

“Col Dhladhla advised tavern owners to assist in preventing crime by reporting criminal activities that are taking place on their premises.

“They were encouraged to join the CPF,” said Const Cathrine Ramovha, communication officer at the Bronkhorstspruit Police.

It was decided at the meeting that all tavern and shebeen owners around the Bronkhorstspruit policing precinct have to visit the office of the liquor officer, Const Maluleka to ensure that they have a file at the station which complies with the Liquor Act.