Children discouraged from attending pens down events
In an attempt to put an end to the ill behaviour of children after they finish writing their exams, the Eastern Cape Liquor Board hosted an anti-pens down event at Indoor Sports Centre on Tuesday.
Eastern Cape Liquor Board spokesperson, Dr Mgwebi Msiya said the aim of event was to try to end the norm of children hosting pens down events after finishing writing their exams.
“We are calling for a quick end to this activity because it yields negative results, such as what transpired in Enyobeni, where lives were lost,” Msiya said.
He said they took this time before exams to teach the children about the dangers of their actions, as there were other ways of having fun that excluded alcohol use.
“There’s nothing wrong with hosting a party after exams but it should not have alcohol because alcohol becomes the root cause of the problems encountered in these pens down parties,” Msiya said.
Enoch Mgijima Liquor Traders Association secretary Phumeza Mbuti said they were at the event to explain to children the dangers of hosting such parties.
“My role is to motivate pupils not to engage in any of the pens down events.
“We have seen pens down events costing a lot of families their loved ones.”
She said she is also an alcohol trader and called for all traders to trade responsibly and refrain from selling alcohol to children.
“We need to be firm in not selling to any underage person and parents need to be responsible and stop sending children to buy their alcohol because that sometimes lead to them developing interest in trying the alcohol,” she said.
“As traders, we should abide to the rules set by the Liquor Board and prevent alcohol abuse by the children,” she added.
One of the parents who attended the event, Thobeka Hlangani said: “This is an important event for both children and parents in teaching them to work together to stop this behaviour that destroys the future of the children and families.”