The Eastern Cape Liquor Board and Azanian People's Organisation have described the sentence handed down to the owners of the Enyobeni tavern as ‘too lenient.”
The Eastern Cape Liquor Board said it welcomed the judgment handed down by the East London Magistrates Court, which found the owners of the tavern guilty of selling alcohol to minors.
After raids by authorities during the festive season, 21 illegal alcohol-selling businesses were forced to abruptly cease operations, as the Eastern Cape Liquor Board and law enforcement agencies continue to clamp down on the scourge of underage drinking in the province.
Nelson Mandela Bay police had their hands full during the New Year’s weekend, with various crimes reported, ranging from murders to drug busts, drinking and driving, muggings and more.
Despite the poor weather putting a dampener on festivities, more than 500 people were arrested for drunken driving on the Eastern Cape roads from December 1 to January 1. Transport MEC Xolile Nqatha said drunken driving remained a major contributing factor to a lot of crashes in the province, some of them deadly.
As the summer holidays get under way, drunk driving remains a major challenge as traffic volumes pick up on major Eastern Cape routes, the provincial transport department said on Monday.Department spokesperson Unathi Binqose said the spike in inbound traffic volumes had started early on Friday and the trend continued on Monday.
Five teenagers were taken to hospital on Saturday night after “over-drinking” at a pens-down party at the East London beachfront which drew a crowd of more than 700 young people.