Daycare unhappy about pub proximity
The management of a daycare centre is furious that the Mpumalanga Economic Regulator (MER) granted permission to a pub and grill to operate near them.
MATSULU – A delegate from Together Educare Centre in Matsulu C, said they do not see how the government and MER could grant the pub an operating licence because it lies in close proximity to them.
“We are sharing a fence with the pub and the kids pass through it when walking to school. There is no other way around,” said Mr William Ndwandwe.
He added that attempts made by the owner of the school and parents to oppose the pub’s opening seem to have fallen on deaf ears.
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“We foresee a risk for the kids. Seeing the patrons drinking there is not a conducive sight for them. We are also worried about the kids’ safety,” added Ms Harriet Nkosi, a parent.
Worried residents even initially objected when the opening was published in the Government Gazette of May 12 2017.
“We have followed the procedure of opposing this, because we care about the future and safety of our kids, but we have been neglected and we don’t know what to do,” she said.
Responding to a media enquiry, Mr Cedric Chiloane, the communications manager of MER said, “Currently there is no law or policy to determine distances between liquor outlets and educational or religious institutions. Therefore, it is not illegal and uncommon for liquor outlets to be near other community amenities such as the abovementioned. There are restaurants with liquor licences and other types of liquor outlets in malls, shopping centres and residential areas, and they coexist with one another. This is common everywhere in the world,” said Chiloane.
