Time runs out for illegal shebeens

THE Karas Liquor Board has rejected appeals by the Luederitz Shebeen Association to extend the grace period for illegal shebeens to obtain licences.

The Board had given illegal shebeen owners until last Wednesday to acquire shebeen licences or face the wrath of the law. Owners of illegal shebeens who failed to abide by the Liquor Act would be brought to book without any exception, Liquor Board Chairperson Ileni Gebhardt warned.The Acting Chairman of the Luederitz Shebeen Association, Silas Antonius, requested an extension at a meeting with the Liquor Board, but Gebhardt rejected it.”The Liquor Act is very clear in black and white,” she said, adding that the Board did not have the authority to grant any grace periods not stipulated in the Act.Antonius said the refusal by local authorities to issue fitness certificates to shebeens operating in informal settlements was preventing these watering holes from registering as legal outlets.He charged that the strict requirements of the Labour Act was contributing to the mushrooming of illegal shebeens.At the last Liquor Board meeting, only 13 applications for shebeen licences were tabled, with only seven being approved.When representatives of the Liquor Board toured the Karas Region in December last year, they counted more than 166 illegal shebeens.Meanwhile, the Karas regional Police commander, Josephat Abel, has warned the owners of illegal shebeens that a Police clampdown is imminent.Owners of illegal shebeens who failed to abide by the Liquor Act would be brought to book without any exception, Liquor Board Chairperson Ileni Gebhardt warned.The Acting Chairman of the Luederitz Shebeen Association, Silas Antonius, requested an extension at a meeting with the Liquor Board, but Gebhardt rejected it.”The Liquor Act is very clear in black and white,” she said, adding that the Board did not have the authority to grant any grace periods not stipulated in the Act.Antonius said the refusal by local authorities to issue fitness certificates to shebeens operating in informal settlements was preventing these watering holes from registering as legal outlets.He charged that the strict requirements of the Labour Act was contributing to the mushrooming of illegal shebeens.At the last Liquor Board meeting, only 13 applications for shebeen licences were tabled, with only seven being approved.When representatives of the Liquor Board toured the Karas Region in December last year, they counted more than 166 illegal shebeens.Meanwhile, the Karas regional Police commander, Josephat Abel, has warned the owners of illegal shebeens that a Police clampdown is imminent.