Response to your article in Obslife; June 2012 Liquor licence successes, setbacks (p8) Dear Mr. Henk Stutteheim As there are no reporter’s name to the article, we only presume that you submitted the above mentioned. It is with great apprehension to have read your biased article of negativity and the pessimistic outlook on the structure in which liquor licenses are issued in Observatory. For whatever reason you might have to detest/dislike anything to do with the legal trade in liquor, whether it is just your personal dislike, some kind of a religious viewpoint, or alternative business dealings, we would enlighten you that we do not adhere to your personal or the group of community doomsayers to spread these incorrect facts to the public about the issuing of liquor licences.
You are not the deciding body when an application to the Western Cape Liquor Board is submitted. There is a fully functioned guide-lined process on how an application is handled. These include public participation, scrutinising of the licence holder’s criminal record, municipal and legal requirements and a lot of other red tape. This process is followed by each applicant and cannot be side-lined or omitted. If you and the Observatory Civic Association feel that you need to be part of this process then Lobby the Western Cape Government and ask them to change the law to suit you. Liquor outlets are also conducting legal business as any other business i.e. a shoe shop, chemist or a Vetkoek Den for that matter. We contribute to the economy. We employ people. We are a service to the public whether you like it or not. Don’t you think that the correct way of handling any liquor concern when you see them on your (witch hunting) patrols breaking the law by i.e. open after their legal licenced operating hours or when any other crime is being committed on said licenced premises, YOU PHONE THE SOUTH AFRICAN POLICE! It is the SAP job to ensure that all of us abide by the law and then they would follow procedure to enforce this. Your/the objections/references lodged in the case of Lion Corner Taverns application (with the 21 orchestrated copied objections from so-called homeowners) was rejected by the liquor board and we quote: “Having perused Google satellite aerial and street view photos to determine the nature of the street and area (and confirming that it is definitely not “purely residential” as alleged by the objectors) and having considered the content of the replication, as well as all other factors brought to the Board’s attention by either the applicant, the applicant’s attorney, the DPO and/or the objectors, the Board considered it to be in the public interest to grant the application and imposed license conditions it believes will curtail and address any of the legitimate concerns raised by the objectors.” Seven months of red tape with this unnecessary delay caused by these instigator’s objections in our application had a major financial implication to our business, by having had to operate on costly temporary licenses as well as the delay in our future business projections. Only after the Premier of the Western Cape’s intervention to the liquor board we had our license issued on 3/5/12 (WCP/039382) You say that the OCA discovered liquor licenses were issued it give the impression that you weren’t aware of the application(s) even though you were involved in our application process with meetings where you, DPO Sgt. Prins, James Cowley and the neighbours were present 5 Oct 11. The fact that you stated in the article that RELOAD has “shut its doors probably because for financial reasons”, makes it clear that you either has first-hand insight into the said business’s financial statements or that you are biased and therefore just meddling into what is none of your concerns. As rate paying property owners as well as fully licensed business operators in Observatory, we would like to ensure you and the public that we will operate within our licensed framework and ensuring a safe venue to come to and to have a good meal and an enjoyable drink in a fabulous environment. Lion Corner Tavern 205 Lower Main Road Observatory Cape Town Tel: +27 21 447 5113 [email protected] www.lioncorner.com https://www.facebook.com/LionCorner -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Observatory Neighbourhood watch" group. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msg/obsnw/-/Xv0MHvTnPisJ. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/obsnw?hl=en.
