“A common denominator between Enyobeni tavern, the Throb nightclub disaster in Durban in 2000 and the Osi’s tavern tragedy in Khayelitsha in 2015 is that these establishments were selling liquor to minors.”
Ramaphosa said the proliferation of establishments openly flouting the law points to failings on the part of authorities to enforce regulations.
Under the National Liquor Act, owners of establishments with liquor licences may not sell alcohol to anyone under the age of 18.
They must also take reasonable steps to ensure anyone they sell alcohol to is of age, he said.
“We call on communities to work with authorities to ensure taverns, shebeens, entertainment venues and outlets breaking the law face the consequences.
“We call upon our police to step up the enforcement of laws that prohibit the sale of alcohol close to schools and enhance monitoring of outlets to ensure alcohol is not being sold to minors.”
Ramaphosa said another reality was that alcohol was a form of escapism for young people in communities where opportunities for safe and age-appropriate recreation were few.
The Scenery Park community has pointed to the lack of sports, learning and developmental facilities for young people, leading them to resort to “tavern hopping”, he said.
Ramaphosa said the three spheres of government need to respond to the pleas of the community and those of other communities by developing more recreational spaces, facilities, programmes and projects for young people in disadvantaged areas in the province.
Other social partners such as the business community should also assist with sponsorship.
He said communities have to work with community policing forums, civic organisations and school governing bodies, and play a more active role in the lives of children and in ensuring their safety and wellbeing.
“As they say in our African indigenous classics, ‘it takes a community to raise a child’.”
Enyobeni tragedy: Ramaphosa calls for frank discussions about alcohol scourge
Image: GCIS / File photo
In the wake of the Enyobeni tavern tragedy in which 21 teenagers died, President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on South Africans to do more to combat underage drinking.
He said the country needs a frank discussion about alcohol and setting boundaries.
Writing in his weekly newsletter on Monday, Ramaphosa said the increased social acceptability of young people drinking alcohol has become a serious problem in a country where most of the drinking population are classified by the World Health Organisation as binge drinkers.
“Alcohol use among adolescents is associated with impaired function, absenteeism from learning, alcohol-related injuries, suicidal thoughts and attempts and risky behaviour,” he said.
“We must come together to combat this vice that is robbing our young people of the best years of their lives, and making them susceptible to alcohol addiction. As families it means having open and frank conversations about alcohol and setting boundaries.”
Children under the age of 18 consuming alcohol is against the law.
Ramaphosa urged adults to refrain from practices such as sending minors to buy alcohol for them or capitulating to requests to buy alcohol for young people.
He said it was not the first time SA had been confronted with tragic events such as what happened in Scenery Park in East London.
“A common denominator between Enyobeni tavern, the Throb nightclub disaster in Durban in 2000 and the Osi’s tavern tragedy in Khayelitsha in 2015 is that these establishments were selling liquor to minors.”
Ramaphosa said the proliferation of establishments openly flouting the law points to failings on the part of authorities to enforce regulations.
Under the National Liquor Act, owners of establishments with liquor licences may not sell alcohol to anyone under the age of 18.
They must also take reasonable steps to ensure anyone they sell alcohol to is of age, he said.
“We call on communities to work with authorities to ensure taverns, shebeens, entertainment venues and outlets breaking the law face the consequences.
“We call upon our police to step up the enforcement of laws that prohibit the sale of alcohol close to schools and enhance monitoring of outlets to ensure alcohol is not being sold to minors.”
Ramaphosa said another reality was that alcohol was a form of escapism for young people in communities where opportunities for safe and age-appropriate recreation were few.
The Scenery Park community has pointed to the lack of sports, learning and developmental facilities for young people, leading them to resort to “tavern hopping”, he said.
Ramaphosa said the three spheres of government need to respond to the pleas of the community and those of other communities by developing more recreational spaces, facilities, programmes and projects for young people in disadvantaged areas in the province.
Other social partners such as the business community should also assist with sponsorship.
He said communities have to work with community policing forums, civic organisations and school governing bodies, and play a more active role in the lives of children and in ensuring their safety and wellbeing.
“As they say in our African indigenous classics, ‘it takes a community to raise a child’.”
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READ MORE:
Enyobeni tragedy: ‘How did we survive while our friends did not?’
Tavern deaths: a day that weighs heavily on us all
Our failure to learn will be the death of us
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