An Ignorant City of Windhoek
RECENT implementation of the closure of unlicensed sheebeens and other backyard businesses by the city of Windhoek is misguided and uncalled for.
It's an undisputable fact that sheebeens and other small business
activities formed the basis of livelihoods of the majority of
unemployed Windhoek residents mostly women, but the City Council
pretends it's not aware of this.
To our surprise, only few of the sheebeen owners, of which most
of them are well-off, were granted licenses leaving the majority
our poor people license-less.
It's understandable that alcohol is a virus to our society but
this does not make us turn a blind eye to other aspects.
Closing some sheebeens and opening others would not solve any
alcohol problem and neither would it alleviate any of its
effects.
Unemployment is very high in Windhoek; we want to know what the
City of Windhoek has proposed to help the majority who were
dependent on their sheebens and other backyard businesses.
Research reveals that majority of the sheebeen owners are
unemployed and thus use their little profits to meet some of their
basic household needs such as food and school fees for their
children as well as supporting their families in rural areas.
This municipal policy is counter productive and thus may
translate into more social problems it tries to solve such as
starvation among families of sheebeen owners and backyard
operators, congestion at so called licensed shebeens which could
accelerate crimes such as murders, more school dropouts, more
robberies, high municipal debts, both urban and rural poverty, and
many others.
Several options could have been exercised to address the
issue.
To me operating hours of sheebens on different days or periods
of the month would have made much more sense than just a
closure.
The alcohol consumers always know where to get their alcohol but
if you regulate sheebeen opening hours no alcohol consumer would be
able to buy alcohol at those times.
The City of Windhoek should review and revise its position on
this matter.
Peter Muteyauli
Via e-mail
To our surprise, only few of the sheebeen owners, of which most of
them are well-off, were granted licenses leaving the majority our
poor people license-less.It's understandable that alcohol is a
virus to our society but this does not make us turn a blind eye to
other aspects.Closing some sheebeens and opening others would not
solve any alcohol problem and neither would it alleviate any of its
effects.Unemployment is very high in Windhoek; we want to know what
the City of Windhoek has proposed to help the majority who were
dependent on their sheebens and other backyard businesses.Research
reveals that majority of the sheebeen owners are unemployed and
thus use their little profits to meet some of their basic household
needs such as food and school fees for their children as well as
supporting their families in rural areas.This municipal policy is
counter productive and thus may translate into more social problems
it tries to solve such as starvation among families of sheebeen
owners and backyard operators, congestion at so called licensed
shebeens which could accelerate crimes such as murders, more school
dropouts, more robberies, high municipal debts, both urban and
rural poverty, and many others.Several options could have been
exercised to address the issue.To me operating hours of sheebens on
different days or periods of the month would have made much more
sense than just a closure.The alcohol consumers always know where
to get their alcohol but if you regulate sheebeen opening hours no
alcohol consumer would be able to buy alcohol at those times.The
City of Windhoek should review and revise its position on this
matter.Peter Muteyauli
Via e-mail