As the Eastern Cape Liquor Board grapples with underage drinking — a crisis worsened by private “pens down” binges involving schoolchildren — it has revealed that it has had to close down nearly 2,000 illegal liquor outlets across the province since 2017.
Alcohol worth more than R3.2m has also been confiscated during surprise, visits conducted by inspectors and the police, to unlicensed establishments.
Addressing pupils during an anti-pens down campaign at Holy Cross High School in Mthatha on Friday, liquor board CEO Dr Nombuyiselo Makala warned that traders who continued to sell alcohol to minors would be arrested and prosecuted.
The visit to Mthatha was prompted by videos posted on social media showing schoolchildren in uniform cheering the driver of a car “spinning” in a street.
In another video, also seen by the Dispatch, an apparently drunk schoolboy, also in uniform, can be seen struggling to get up from the road.
The board’s spokesperson, Mgwebi Msiya, confirmed that the pupils were from St Johns College and Holy Cross.
Makala said illegal liquor outlets were the biggest contributing factor to the problem of underage drinking.
“We saw videos that were viral on social media. What worried us as the liquor board was that the exams had not even started, and yet they were celebrating.
“They were drunk and we felt, ‘let’s come here’,” she said.
“SA law does not allow the sale of alcohol to someone under the age of 18. We also want to warn liquor traders that if they host these parties, if they sell alcohol to children under 18 years, that is a criminal offence.
“We will take action against them. We will arrest you and make an example.”
She urged parents to monitor their children during the festive season because some had a tendency to sneak out, or say they were visiting a friend when in fact they were going partying.
“That is exactly what happened at Enyobeni.
“One parent said her child went out of the house wearing a [dressing] gown. She was shocked when in the morning she was told to go and check if her child was not there.
“The child had left the gown on the washing line at home and had apparently been wearing nice clothes underneath that gown.”
She also appealed to parents and communities to help them fight underage drinking by using the board’s toll free number 08800-000420 and WhatsApp number 076-403-6223 to report any illegal activities, including people drinking outside taverns and shebeens.
She said it was the responsibility of each liquor trader to ensure its patrons drank within the premises, and did not disturb the community.
She said illegal liquor traders were not privy to the laws governing the sale of alcohol and they were the biggest problem.
Holy Cross pupil Lona Mbixane confirmed that drugs, particularly dagga, were being widely used at her school, and even girls were smoking it.
Principal Wele Madikizela urged the board and police to design programmes to help fight the scourge of drug abuse at schools.
When contacted later, he told Dispatch the situation was so dire in his school that he had installed CCTV cameras inside the toilets.
However, they were damaged by pupils, who did not want to be caught.
He said at least three pupils at the school had not been able to sit for their end-year exams due to drugs.
One had developed mental problems while the other two were in rehab trying to beat their addiction.
“It is a painful situation,” he said.
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