Zara Nicholson
Metro Writer
COUNCILLORS have shot down a request to allow 24-hour liquor trading at the GrandWest casino and the entire Cape Town International Airport as the city’s new proposed liquor by-law goes out for comment next month.
Yesterday, the city’s economic, environmental and spatial planning portfolio committee held a special meeting to discuss the proposed new “Control of Undertakings that sell Liquor to the Public” by-law. Councillors discussed a recommendation for the city to allow 24-hour alcohol trading at the airport and the casino.
The casino is allowed to trade for 15 hours between 11am and 2am. Chris O’Connor, a manager in the economic, environmental and spatial planning directorate, said the Western Cape Liquor Authority made a request to allow for 24-hour trading.
A number of councillors in the portfolio committee took issue with the request, saying it was unnecessary to allow all-hours trade, and cautioned that the city should not be too lenient with trading hours.
DA councillor Dave Venter said: “The casino recommendation is a serious problem. People who are at casinos may not want to drink till all hours of the morning, and if we look at the surrounding areas, people will go to the casino specifically to drink, especially people with an alcohol addiction problem.”
DA councillor Dave Bryant said: “I understand the need to make 24-hour provision at the international airport for people coming and going all the time, but this should not be allowed at the casino. Most people visiting the casino are local people and most have a gambling or alcohol problem.”
“A person coming from a casino or from a pub when inebriated will have the same negative impact, so we can’t say no to extensions for businesses on Long Street but allow 24-hour trade at the casino,” Bryant added.
The committee agreed that it would not allow for 24-hour alcohol trade at the casino but that it would remain at the 2am cut-off. The new by-law will, however, make provision for the casino to apply to trade until 4am.
Most councillors said they understood the request to allow 24-hour trade international section of the airport since visitors flew into the city at all hours, but said they could not see the rationale behind allowing it in the domestic section. The committee later agreed that 24-hour alcohol trade should only be permitted in the international section.
The city will put the draft by-law out for public comment. Once it is passed the council will repeal the existing liquor by-law.
zara.nicholson@inl.co.za