Lekopanye Mooketsi
17 April 2008
The revised liquor trading rules, which have reduced business hours of nightclubs, will also have a telling effect on the entertainment industry.
According to the new hours, nightclubs now open at 7pm and close at midnight from Monday to Thursday. Over the weekends, they open at 7pm and close at 2.00 am. On Sundays and public holidays, they operate 3pm to 10 pm.
Steve Raman, who owns four nightclubs in and around Gaborone, says the new regulations are going to affect his business adversely. He laments that the revised regulations have dealt a big blow to his businesses. "This is going to lead to a tremendous loss of business."
He said despite the fact that business is going to be drastically reduced he will still be paying the same rentals. There are also utilities costs that need to be taken care of.
Raman runs two nightclubs at Gaborone West, Grand West and Satchmo's Jazz Cafe. Others are Club Havana at Maruapula and the Ozone in Tlokweng.
Due to the reduced trading hours, Raman is planning to come up with cost cutting measures. Employees will also be casualties of this exercise.
He plans to retrench over 50 percent of his 120 work force in the four night clubs. He said he is also going to stop engaging a private security company with horses at Ozone.
Instead of operating daily, Ozone is now going to open only from Thursday, Friday and Saturday while Club Havana would operate on weekends only. Alfredo Mos and Extra Melody, which have been performing at Club Havana, are likely to lose their contracts as well.
Raman said Satchmo's would no longer offer live entertainment. The jazz joint is going to operate over weekends only with Djs providing the music.
Raman sees no point in opening on Sundays because patrons only start streaming into the nightclubs after midnight.
In Raman's view, the old regulations were better. He said his nightclubs never had any problems with the law because they have always provided security.
Raman said the only shortcoming especially at the Gaborone West mall, is that the police are not willing to control people who sell beer illegally in the streets.
He feels the new regulations will not profit anybody. He said what is likely to happen is that people are going to sell beer underground and shebeens will flourish. "Even the police will not be able to control the illegal shebeens. People will buy drinks after the pubs have closed and then they would be driving around looking for fun. There is also the risk factor since the number of road accidents is likely to increase," he said.
Raman said under the new regulations, a licence for a nightclub costs P2,000. "But how can you pay such an amount when they have reduced hours?"
Raman said there is no control over the sale of Chibuku and traditional beer where there is more trouble. He said children sell Chibuku and traditional brews in homes and as a result they get exposed to liquor at a tender age.
Tebogo Tshesebe, a DJ at Ozone, blamed the government for not looking at both sides of the coin when it came up with the regulations. "They were just looking at the disadvantages and not the advantages."
Tshesebe said their employer has issued them with notices, terminating their employment. He said the new law would lead to job losses in the industry. "We have been depending on this industry for a living. So how are we expected to survive now?" he asked.
Tshesebe, who is popularly known as DJ Fondo, said people are going to consume alcohol at home due to the revised regulations.
He added that the new regulations are discriminatory, as they do not cover hotels and motels. He insisted that people's right to entertainment is being curtailed.
He said the regulations are dictating to people when they should drink, arguing that this would never curb alcohol abuse. He suggests that the government should rather be educating people against alcohol abuse. Tshesebe feels that with the introduction of the new regulations, even the rate of HIV/AIDS spread will escalate.
He called on the government to reinstate the old rules. "They think they are doing something good but they have worsened the situation," he said.
Abby Mogapi, who works as an accounts clerk for Raman's holding company, is also against the new regulations. She fears that they are going to lose their jobs. "We are concerned because we might lose our jobs," she said.
David Letshwiti, who works for the same company, said they are going to work for a few hours, hence reduced monthly earnings. He said the rules would also affect musicians as they survive by staging shows at nightclubs.
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