Bottle store under fire
Owner of Kalk Bay bottle store slammed for extending its trading hours
RESIDENTS have lashed out at a bottle store in Main Road across from Kalk Bay beach for selling alcohol to hundreds of beachgoers on Boxing Day after obtaining extended trading hours.
There was a near-drowning on the beach which is notorious for boozing.
A 40-year-old man was rescued by the City of Cape Town’s Marine and Environmental Law Enforcement Unit after he was tossed into the water by his friends while drunk.
Several concerns have been raised about the Blue Bottle Liquor store that has been in the Kalk Bay area for more than 16 years. The liquor outlet saw more than 300 customers line-up before its doors opened at 9am on Saturday.
The Kalk Bay and St James and Ratepayers Association’s Tony Trimmel said the liquor outlet obtained extended trading rights to operate on Sundays and public holidays which became problematic when beachgoers decided to drink alcohol on the beach, in parking areas and near the water.
He said the situation got “completely out of control” because of the liquor store’s extended trading hours and the “amount of alcohol being purchased without restrictions”.
He also said a low police and law enforcement presence on the beach added to an “increase” of drowning incidents.
“There were thousands of people on the beach this Boxing Day and with the little resources deployed to the area, there was little police and law enforcement officers could do,” Trimmel said.
The store’s owner, Jack Cullinan, said it was unfair that fingers were being pointed at his establishment and not at a lack of police and law enforcement presence.
He said he was operating within the boundaries of the law and was offering a service, just like “any other business”.
“It is a concern with the beach itself and not my establishment. Police are not doing their bit. Whether I am opened or closed it is the same thing. I have been here for more than 16 years and there is still no real security on the beach,” he said.
The executive director for Safety and Security, Richard Bosman, said more than 120 000 people flocked to the city’s beaches on Saturday.
He said more than 1 000 law enforcement officers were diligent in confiscating liquor from beachgoers at the several roadblocks set up in Muizenberg, Mnandi, Monwabisi and Strandfontein beaches.
“The liquor store opposite Kalk Bay beach is a problem and that is why we will speak to the Western Cape Liquor Authority to change its trading hours,” Bosman said.
He said on Boxing Day, at least 2 000 units of liquor was confiscated from beachgoers. From December 1 to December 23, 6 660 units of alcohol was confiscated by law enforcement officials.
“That is a 40 percent increase since last year – before Christmas, Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve,” Bosman said.
IT IS A CONCERN WITH THE BEACH, NOT MY ESTABLISHMENT. POLICE ARE NOT DOING THEIR BIT. THERE IS NO REAL SECURITY ON THE BEACH