The following response is on behalf of Henk Stutterheim
Good day Angus,
Your posting and mail to Frank of 10 May 2011 refers.
You pose some pertinent questions regarding the unacceptable behaviour
of the management and patrons at Mezani Lounge.
As rate paying, law abiding citizens residing in a predominantly
residential suburb one might assume that if a business establishment
in the area is trading illegally, it could simply be closed down by
the authorities.
This, unfortunately is not the case. A business must have a business
licence as required by the City Council Business Licensing Department.
If the business sells or serves alcohol, a liquor licence is required.
There are different types of business licences and liquor licences
depending on the particular type of business conducted and type of
service and entertainment provided.
Having said that, it appears that the law enforcement agencies of the
City or the SAPS are not able to simply shut down businesses that are
non-compliant. The authorities can fine businesses who break the law
and they do so. They can confiscate equipment. If the offences are
repeated (in the case of the City more than twice) the authorities may
summon the business to court. What happens at court is another storey
altogether. Suffice to say, what happens there is not in our favour.
An avenue that the community needs to explore further is the action
that may be taken by the Liquor Board. We have made some approaches
but the response has thus far not been encouraging.
There are a number of residents in Observatory that are working hard
to bring the untenable situation regarding rogue business operators to
the attention of the authorities. Their initiatives include:
· Reporting as many transgressions as possible to the
authorities.
· Using the 10111 reporting procedure and following these up
by entering these occurrences
in the register at Woodstock SAPS.
· Logging all transgressions onto our data base.
· Objecting to any liquor licence application by a business
that is not fully compliant.
· Encouraging business owners in Observatory to engage with
the Business Forum and
· Encouraging residents to bring their grievances to the
attention of the OCA, Observatory Neighbourhood Watch,
Obsid or the Observatory Community Police Sub Forum.
I would like to thank you for your approach regarding Mezani and the
Balkanology Party. We appreciate community participation in this
difficult campaign.
Kind regards,
Henk Stutterheim
PS by Frank
All concerned residents are urged to attend a public Observatory
Community Police Sub Forum Meeting on Tuesday 21 May at the Civic
Centre details to follow.
On May 10, 8:47 am, AP <[email protected]> wrote:
> good morning
>
> I received a note in my postbox from the organisers of a Balkanology
> party due in the old Wunders furniture shop at the top of Bowden Road.
>
> The party is being presented as a fait accompli on 10 June.
>
> What is the status of the Wunders building? Is there anything stopping
> people turning it into a full-time nightclub, for instance?
>
> While we're on the topic, is the new-ish Mazaan bar (I forget the
> name), opposite Wunders, at the top of Bowden/cnr Main, still
> operating on a temporary liquor licence? Is this establishment going
> to be shut down? It continues to attract a less-then-salubrious crowd,
> who drive down the one-way road to park, break bottles on the pavement
> and piss copiously against the wall.
>
> What mechanisms do residents have to prevent nightclubs operating in
> residential streets?
>
> cheers
> AP
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