Walvis shebeen owners take to the streets

SHEBEEN owners in Walvis Bay on Wednesday demanded that the backyard bars closed by the Police last weekend be reopened and that confiscated alcohol be returned to the proprietors.

Some 50 shebeen owners and their clients, mostly young women, rocked up at the Kuisebmond Stadium in Walvis Bay yesterday to protest the closure of illegal shebeens in the town. However, nothing came of their plans to march through town towards the Civic Centre to make their grievances known to the public.Shebeen owners approached by The Namibian said they felt victimised by the law.Many of them said they had applied for liquor licenses unsuccessfully, and did not know why their applications were rejected.One owner, who didn’t want to divulge his name, said he had applied many times without success, but continued operating his business without a licence.”It puts food on my table,” he said.Eddie, who owns one of the shebeens in Kuisebmond, admitted that he runs his business without a licence.He wants liquor licences to be issued free of charge, he said.But most demonstrators agreed that there are too many shebeens in their neighbourhoods.Approximately 400 shebeens are operating in Walvis Bay, most of them in Kuisebmond.Meanwhile, some owners of these informal watering holes had a meeting with Municipal Chief Executive Officer Augustinus Katiti to put forward their demands and decided to put the planned demonstration on hold until their negotiations with the Town Council, the Police and other stakeholders conclude.Katiti told the enraged proprietors of shebeens that were closed down over the weekend that he understood their unhappiness and the seriousness of the situation.He said the Police acted on their own instructions while the Municipality would prefer to solve the issue through consultation.A meeting between the shebeen association and the regional governor is planned for Friday.However, nothing came of their plans to march through town towards the Civic Centre to make their grievances known to the public.Shebeen owners approached by The Namibian said they felt victimised by the law.Many of them said they had applied for liquor licenses unsuccessfully, and did not know why their applications were rejected.One owner, who didn’t want to divulge his name, said he had applied many times without success, but continued operating his business without a licence.”It puts food on my table,” he said.Eddie, who owns one of the shebeens in Kuisebmond, admitted that he runs his business without a licence.He wants liquor licences to be issued free of charge, he said.But most demonstrators agreed that there are too many shebeens in their neighbourhoods.Approximately 400 shebeens are operating in Walvis Bay, most of them in Kuisebmond. Meanwhile, some owners of these informal watering holes had a meeting with Municipal Chief Executive Officer Augustinus Katiti to put forward their demands and decided to put the planned demonstration on hold until their negotiations with the Town Council, the Police and other stakeholders conclude.Katiti told the enraged proprietors of shebeens that were closed down over the weekend that he understood their unhappiness and the seriousness of the situation.He said the Police acted on their own instructions while the Municipality would prefer to solve the issue through consultation.A meeting between the shebeen association and the regional governor is planned for Friday.