East London – Eastern Cape Social Development MEC Bukiwe Fanta on Sunday expressed her disappointment at the sentence given to the Enyobeni Tavern owners – last week by the East London Magistrate’s court.
Last week, after a protracted case, the two tavern owners – Siyakhangela Ndevu and Vuyokazi Ndevu – were each fined R5 000 or 100 days in prison for selling alcohol to the minor children.
Twenty-one children, some of them less than 16 years old, died inside the Enyobeni Tavern in Scenery Park in East London, about two years ago.
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“I am disappointed at the sentence given. Twenty-one children died after being sold alcohol illegally,” said MEC Fanta.
“Their deaths were a painful and difficult ordeal.
“Parents and families place their hopes for the continuation and sustainability of their homes in the future on their children.
“Also, young children are the treasure and the future of communities and the nation.”
Sentencing the tavern owners on Friday, East London Regional Court Magistrate Kevi von Brett said the matter at hand only related to the illegal sale of liquor to minors and not the liability for their deaths.
The tragedy left nine girls and 12 boys, aged between 13 and 17, dead.
However, a final toxicology report by the Eastern Cape Department of Health said the victims’ deaths were due to overcrowding inside the tavern.
On Sunday, MEC Fanta called on the owners of taverns and other places of entertainment, where the majority of customers are young people, to ensure that regulations, especially those relating to access and closing times, are strictly adhered to.
“Places of entertainment should not be death traps for young people,” reiterated MEC Fanta.
She also called on parents to play a major role in the upbringing of their children.
“Parents must ensure that they know where their children are at all times. We cannot emphasise more that parents should teach their children about the dangers of alcohol,” MEC Fanta said.
“Parents have the responsibility to contribute to the maintenance of the child,” she said.
“A child’s reasonable needs to have a proper upbringing must be met.
“This includes the provision of food, clothing, accommodation, medical care, and education.”
MEC Fanta added: “South Africa is a nation ravaged by alcohol abuse and the societal ills that result from it.
“A number of road deaths, domestic violence incidents, and femicide are directly or indirectly related to alcohol consumption and harmful alcohol use.
“Alcohol also has the potential to influence risky sexual behaviour among adolescents and makes them vulnerable to sexually transmitted infections, unintended pregnancy, and worst of all, sexual violence.”
Almost half of the school-age adolescents (49.6%) in South Africa have at least consumed alcoholic beverages in their lifetime.
The prevalence of alcohol use among school adolescents in the country ranges from 22 to 53.8%.
However, as DSD we must continue to forge effective partnerships with all the sectors of society in mobilising communities behind the vision of a drug-free society and put education and awareness programmes at the centre of their strategies.
“The high rate of substance abuse in the Eastern Cape manifests its negative effects on the youth (in and out of school), families, and societies in general,” MEC Fanta said.
Substance abuse destroys the lives and fibre of society, undermines sustainable human development and leads to crime.
MEC Fanta warned that drug abuse affects everyone in all societies, either directly or indirectly.
She said her department has embarked on school-based campaigns which are conducted to educate and raise awareness in schools among learners on the dangers of underage drinking and on drinking during pregnancy.
“The focus is on hot spot areas in the Province,” said MEC Fanta.
“School-based campaigns are conducted in partnership with the Department of Education.
“The department continues to intensify implementation of Substance Abuse Programmes in Institutions of Higher Learning.”
MEC Fanta said: “Awareness and educational programs on dangers of drinking during pregnancy are conducted in collaboration with the Department of Health and other local stakeholders.
“The target group for this intervention will be women at risk and pregnant women.”
MEC Fanta said in collaboration with the Eastern Cape Liquor Board, the department will implement Tavern-based awareness campaigns.
The focus of the campaigns will be to monitor compliance with liquor legislation, and the role of men as a support system for pregnant women.
