City Of Harare | Ward 16 Residents bemoan proliferation of beerhalls

Ward 16 residents have bemoaned the proliferation of beerhalls and night clubs saying the development is aiding illegal activities in the area. This came out during a feedback meeting held at Mabelreign District Office held at the weekend. The meeting was convened by Ward 16 councillor Denford Ngadziore and attended by Mayor Cllr Jacob Mafume and council officials. Many speakers at the meeting implored council on to reign in on the increase in night clubs and beer spots in the ward. “I want to ask how many night clubs must be at each shopping centre? If you look at Mabelreign shopping centre, the majority, if not all the shops have been turned into night clubs, what is council doing in that regard. “The area has no toilets and you see people relieving themselves anywhere and that is not good for an area such as Mabelreign,” said one resident. Another resident said their children no longer have freedom around their homes. “There is a noisy night club in Sunridge and it is built right in the middle of our houses. “The patrons who frequent this place park their vehicles just in front of our gates and we feel that is not safe for our children because we do not know who is parked there,” she said. In response, Cllr Mafume said the proliferation of beerhalls started with deregulation. “The problem started when government implemented the deregulation policy where no limits were done on businesses. “As council, we do not give people liquor licences, it is a government board, the Liquor Licensing Board which gives licences to beerhalls and night clubs. “We however hear you, we will sit down in council and make sure that we have a resolution to limit the number of night clubs at each shopping centre, we cannot continue in this manner,” he said.