Festival director Ricardo Da Costa confirmed that the event organisers have applied to the municipality to have the business hours of the mother of all parties in the region extended.
He said if all goes well, this means the venue will have to close by 2am, adding that this is in line with the bylaws on Liquor Act trading hours, which stipulates that they may enjoy late trading hours until 2am.
Currently, they have to close at midnight.
Businesses and residents living in the immediate vicinity of Wild Waters reportedly met in July, to discuss the proposal submitted by the event organisers to the municipality.
Organisers of this meeting, however, refused to comment on the issue, stating that they don’t want to involve the media in this particular issue.
Da Costa stated that he is aware that people will hold very diverse views on the issue, with others objecting to the proposed new trading hours.
He, however, said the organisers welcome opinions on this annual event.
“We always engage all the relevant stakeholders and, most importantly, make sure that we abide by the legislation, to avoid conflict,” he added.
“Our new plan is in line with Liquor Act trading hours.”
It is still unclear how far authorities have gone with the proposed, extended business hours issue.
The municipality has not yet responded to questions about the proposal, therefore, it is still unclear whether this issue was dealt with in consultation with the concerned residents.
Based on its commitment to grow the economy of the city, this publication understands the metro has recently formed a strong partnership with the Spring Fiesta.
According to da Costa, the event brings thousands of people to the city and a boost of millions of Rand to the Ekurhuleni economy.
He said it also creates 972 job opportunities. This consists of 68 per cent three-day-contracts and 32 per cent six month contracts.
“Most of the supplies are procured from businesses within the city and, when it comes to job opportunities, we give preference to those who live in Boksburg, provided they have the required skills,” said da Costa.
This year’s Ekurhuleni Spring Fiesta will be held on October 3.
The event comes to Boksburg by a joint partnership between Soul Candi Live, SABC 1 and Metro Fm. It will feature international headliners including Rocco, Osunlade and Lars Behrenroth and others.
The line-up of local musicians will be announced soon. -@FanieFLK
