Pubs in court over new booze laws

[w1z4rd]

BUFFALO City has imposed stringent new trading hours on bars, clubs and restaurants that will prohibit drinking after 11pm on weekdays and forbid champagne breakfasts on Sundays.
The new regulations have angered establishments already facing a trying festive season as the council, which usually considers applications for special exemptions, has gone into recess. Desperate, a group of local hotel, nightclub and pub owners are bringing an urgent application to the Grahamstown High Court today to have the new trading hours suspended.
At the same time legal advisers for Tsogo Sun, the holding company of Hemingways Casino, are also in discussions with the municipality over the operating times. “This is clearly prejudicial to our trading,” said Hemingways Casino general manager Mike Page.
Attorney Andre Schoombee, who represents the group, which includes Gonubie Hotel and Numbers nightclub, confirmed that advocate Dennis de la Harpe will request judge Jeremy Pickering to suspend Buffalo City from enforcing the gazetted operating hours.
A wide interpretation of the regulations, as gazetted on October 28, makes it illegal for anyone to sell or serve liquor to guests or clients at any licensed premises, including hotels, B&Bs or the casino, after the regulated hours.
The regulations have been issued in terms of the Eastern Cape Liquor Act of 2003, which states that liquor may only be sold “during the hours determined by the municipality in whose area of jurisdiction the premises are situated”.

http://www.dispatch.co.za/article.aspx?id=280981

 

[<moLe>]

thank god I stay in pretoria

 

[adrianx]

I obviously don't get out much! When I read Buffalo City, I assumed they were talking about one of those Bible Belt states in the US. Then I saw Grahamstown and Tsogo Sun....

 

[supersunbird]

I obviously don't get out much! When I read Buffalo City, I assumed they were talking about one of those Bible Belt states in the US. Then I saw Grahamstown and Tsogo Sun....

ME TOO!

 

[grayston]

thank god I stay in pretoria

You don't hear that very often! :-D

 

[marine1]

I obviously don't get out much! When I read Buffalo City, I assumed they were talking about one of those Bible Belt states in the US. Then I saw Grahamstown and Tsogo Sun....

Same here

 

[Bona Botse]

I obviously don't get out much! When I read Buffalo City, I assumed they were talking about one of those Bible Belt states in the US. Then I saw Grahamstown and Tsogo Sun....

 

[noxibox]

Good, so now people will binge on as much alcohol as possible before the cut-off time.

The clowns on the city council probably don't know that people can get champagne themselves.

 

[skoob]

I really can't see them rolling it out to the rest of the country.

 

[adrianx]

I really can't see them rolling it out to the rest of the country.

I've seen some raids on entertainment areas in and around Jo'burg that managed to reduce the general crime rate by more or less 0%. Sometimes, I think it has more to do with spite (dominance?) than law and order.

Also, and I haven't researched this so I wouldn't know, but could it be that Tsogo Sun and Hemingways Casino are not BEE enough? Or maybe the wrong kind of BEE? Just wondering...

 

[Sneeky]

Shebeens will do a roaring trade.

 

[Mephisto_Helix]

Didn't we have a similar doff law under apartheid? Sheesh, the current gauvamint sure do like doing a lot of the things the NP did eh

 

[bwana]

I really can't see them rolling it out to the rest of the country.

Neither do I since it was decided a few years ago to leave it up to the provinces.

 

[MielieSpoor]

This is actually nothing strange. Laws like this exist in the UK also. If you want to trade Alcohol after those hours, you need a special license. I think it is unfait [shamefull] though that they didn't really provide opportunity to apply for such permits.

 

[ToxicBunny]

Oh they will offer such permits probably, after they figure out whose palms need to be greased, and how much extra they can charge for these "permits" which will randomly expire, usually about 25 minutes before the police raid the place.