People running illegal shebeens in Stellenbosch say the process of obtaining an operating licence left them little choice.
|||Cape Town - While police continue to target illegal shebeens, some people running such establishments in Stellenbosch say unemployment and the process of obtaining an operating licence left them little choice.
Police said about 130 traders were operating illegally in Stellenbosch and identified Nkanini, O-Zone and Bassi Street as “problematic” areas in the Kayamandi informal settlement.
“Weekly operations… were executed by the Crime Prevention Unit and assisted by the Dog Unit, which were very successful,” said police spokesman Captain FC van Wyk. Liquor was seized and suspects arrested and charged.
Van Wyk said police were planning a workshop with the local community policing forum to inform residents about the processes when applying for a liquor licence.
Sondezwa Dumani, who runs an illegal shebeen, accused the police of unfairly targeting her business, making it difficult for her to provide for her family.
“Myself and the other traders are deeply affected by this. Police come in and take the liquor and sometimes the money,” said Dumani.
“The police don’t want to give us a chance to work things out. For instance, the captain (of the Stellenbosch cluster) openly told the liquor board and myself in a meeting that he won’t sign the papers granting me the licence to operate legally.
“They tried to ask him why, but he just bluntly refused,” Dumani said.
Captain Norman Davids wasn’t immediately available for comment.
She claimed that prior to the meeting the police had told her to build toilets and expand the premises, which she did before inviting the liquor board to inspect her premises, which was then given the green light.
“We don’t work and this is our only avenue of income. In other townships like Khayelitsha, police try to meet the shebeen owners halfway by giving them a curfew, while they don’t even allow us to obtain licences this side,” Dumani said.
Another illegal trader, Lunga Danxa, said he had been arrested three times.
“It’s hard to obtain a licence,” Danxa said.
“They make it virtually impossible for us. I was told to use a lawyer, like Dumani, if I needed one. How am I going to afford that when they lock us up, take our alcohol and never return it even if the court case was struck off the roll?
“The government is telling us to fend for ourselves if we can, but they’re quick to clamp down on us with hectic by-laws,” said Danxa.
Cape Argus