Shebeens staring down the barrel?

The Western Cape legislature has approved a bill aimed at shutting down about 20 000 illegal shebeens across the province to curb alcohol abuse and its impact on communities. (from IOL)(Is this a bad time to point out that there are approximately 30 000 shebeens - not 20 000?)

"Alcohol is a major factor in all types of crime, including crimes of violence against women and children," the MEC for finance, economic development and tourism Garth Strachan said.

"A whopping 67 percent of domestic violence cases in the Cape Town metropole are alcohol-related."

On average, 60 percent of homicides in Cape Town were associated with alcohol abuse. More than 70 percent of non-fatal and 50 percent of fatal violent injuries in urban areas were alcohol-related. More than 50 percent of drivers and passengers and more than 70 percent of the 3 000 adult pedestrians a year who died in accidents were found to have been drinking. Six in 10 drivers who died in accidents had dangerously high alcohol levels in their blood. About 50 percent of truck drivers and 30 percent of taxi drivers drank while driving.

Adopt a Cop comes to the Mother City

The City of Cape Town will allow the adoption of it's Metro police from December. The public (as in desirable companies and associations but NOT individuals) are being asked to donate R90 000 per annum to pay the policeman's salary.

The chair of the city's safety and security portfolio committee, J P Smith, said the policy had been adopted about six months ago.

"It took a long time for people to know. (Perhaps he means to say that the City has chosen not to discuss privatising it's security function in the form of the police with the public - AT ALL)

"This should be up and running by December." (Story from IOL)

The public does not seem to have been consulted, nor were the consequences thought through. Does it matter who pays the police? Of course it does as "he who pays the piper calls the tune" Nothing can convince me that we won't end up in a society where we have unequal policing afforded to those who pay relative to those who don't. Who would not go the extra mile to protect the hand which feeds it? Logically this means "less" policing for those who do not pay - or in the case of individuals those who are not allowed to pay. The distinction between natural and juristic persons ignores that businesses and organisations are created and controlled by individuals. The "scheme" seeks legitimacy and gravity by pandering to the idea that large businesses and organisations are "better suited" to having some leverage over the police? The average person would say that Pick 'n Pay is suited, but a Taxi Association probably not. What of an insurance company? Old Mutual? Outsurance? Mutual and Federal? Prudential? Fedsure? Would Arthur J Brown (- the thief of food from the mouths of orphans and pensions from the poor) be the kind of person the city has in mind. He was the king of the world but a short time ago!

If the a business or association coughs up R90 000 per annum what can they expect in return? A pat on the back? An adoption certificate? Or should donors expect something more concrete? Preferential treatment? I can't wait to see what other public goods are going to be come quasi-privatised? Surely it's not too much to think that Justice could be next . Congratulations Cape Town for a terrible idea which has been poorly executed.

Alcohol still the curse of the Cape

The growing scourge of tik (methamphetamine) in the Western Cape has grabbed attention in the past few years, but the province still has a massive alcohol problem with almost 60 percent of violent deaths linked to drunkenness.

Alcohol is by far the most widely abused substance in the province and also accounts for 57 percent of road accidents, far higher than the rest of the country.

These figures were part of a collaborative report by the Medical Research Council, the Humans Sciences Research Council, and the University of Cape Town on substance abuse trends in the Western Cape, which reviewed studies conducted since 2000.

Professor Charles Parry of the MRC said Friday urgent intervention was needed to curb the misuse of alcohol.

"We need to counter advertising by the industry. Alcohol ads have to be restricted to late night when children are not watching TV! There must be signage at the point of sale on the harm caused by abusing alcohol, communities need to enforce the closure times of outlets in their areas, including shebeens, and there should be an absolute ban on novice drivers drinking and driving for at least three years."

SAFER CIA would like restrictions on adverts:

• No Alcohol adverts which do not have an adult consuming the product
• No Alcohol advertising / or electronic sponsorship of sports including 2010 (Children watch these games)
• NO misrepresentation of the alcoholic product (e.g. Kilpdrift is Tea)
• Warnings Labels on the product - Will Cause FAS
• With the stats available it is clear the majority of the social problems are caused by alcohol. Producers should stop claiming they support "Safe Consumption"
  

Parry said the trauma units should steer drunken patients to intervention programmes.

He also wants to see the establishment of an alcohol health promotion foundation, to be funded by the liquor industry.

It could send messages on the harmful effects of alcohol misuse, offer alternative enterprises to shebeen owners, and run intervention programmes in communities.

The collaborative report was presented recently at a substance-abuse conference hosted in Cape Town by the provincial departments of health and social development.

It showed that alcohol remained a significant substance of abuse in the province but was not often a key focal point for prevention and treatment services.

This was despite the fact that alcohol abuse placed a tremendous burden on the health and social welfare sectors in both urban and rural areas.

Studies, including an HSRC household survey, pointed to higher levels of problem drinking among coloured communities. The research council said 18 percent of coloureds abuse alcohol compared to 11 percent of blacks, 7 percent of whites and 1 percent of Indians.

Cape Town has more alcohol-related violent deaths than other metros in the country, according to the latest National Injury Mortality Surveillance System report. Drunkenness was responsible for 59 percent of violent deaths in the city, compared to 47 percent of violent deaths in Durban and Johannesburg, and 51 percent in Pretoria.

Cape Town also has the dubious distinction of being the city with the highest number of alcohol-related road deaths. A staggering 59 percent of road accidents were due to alcohol, compared to 47 percent of road deaths in both Durban and Pretoria.

According to the report, alcohol use is also strongly associated with risky sexual risk behaviour. The outcomes of studies conducted on HIV prevalence, substance abuse and associated high-risk practices over the past eight years, all echo the same concerns: the need for interventions to address the growing substance abuse problem and its links to risky sexual behaviour.

The report says there are not enough treatment centres for women, blacks, rural dwellers and poor people.

"With increasing pressure to treat young methamphetamine-using clients, it is highly likely that access to treatment for older alcohol-dependent persons has become increasingly difficult in the Western Cape," the reports says.

The Demographic and Health Survey reported that binge drinking at weekends was higher among women than men, but 25 percent of men and 6 percent of women in the Western Cape consumed alcohol in a "hazardous or harmful manner".

The Western Cape has one of the highest rates of foetal alcohol syndrome in the world.

- Saturday Argus

Who ya gonna call?

Drug Busters.... (from IOL)

The City of Cape Town's substance abuse unit, nicknamed the "Drug Busters" headed up by Glen Kleinsmith, a councillor, said the "Drug Busters" had conducted about 20 operations a month, closed 15 shebeens and arrested 48 suspected drug dealers since its inception in July.

"In this time we inspected 84 premises for by-law contraventions, issued more than R28 000 in fines and filed complaints that will result in 778 court cases," Kleinsmith said. (Unintended consequence = backed up court rolls... people waiting forever in custody because they can't afford bail? Aren't the prisons full?)

Kleinsmith urged residents to immediately inform either the police, Metro Police or their local housing office when they suspect drug dealing or other illegal activities on council property.

Addresses, names and vehicle registration details could be passed on by residents, he said. (No need to worry about people's constitutional right to privacy... if you have nothing to hide then you really shouldn't have a problem with the neighbours peeking through your curtains... right?)

"All leads are followed up. Once sufficient proof has been gathered, the city first has to write to the tenants, ordering them to cease the illegal activity."(Great strategy by the city here - no need for a tip off... Here comes A LETTER!!!!!)

"The Drug Busters put their lives at risk every time they go out on raids because one can never tell what is behind the gates of suspected drug houses which are secured like fortresses with thick steel doors and heavy gates. But they are a very dedicated people. They have received specialised training," Kleinsmith said.(Amazing the alterations they allow people to make without permission to property they have leased!! )

WLCB - Finally time to act against Shebeens?

Thousands of illegal shebeens will face the full might of the law before the festive season as the Western Cape Liquor Bill is expected to be signed into law before then. (from IOL)

"We expect it to be before the festive season. The bill will really put a sharp weapon into the hands of the police. Our appeal to the liquor industry is to stop supplying alcohol to illegal shebeens. They are the scourge of our society," Finance, Economic Development and Tourism MEC Garth Strachan said.

Community Safety MEC Patrick McKenzie said his department knew the location of legal and illegal shebeens in all townships and that the police were ready to shut down illegal traders as soon as the bill became law. (Admission of guilt? Says nothing about doing something about the situation using the existing laws? If the shebeens are selling alcohol illegally then what is stopping the police from stopping them)

"We hope that shebeen owners start realising the fact that they are going to lose thousands of rand as their illegal businesses are going to grind to a halt. Liquor confiscated will become state property. They could even see their houses confiscated because there is a law against accumulating wealth through illegal means.

"Shebeens have a disastrous impact on the lives of residents and our call is 'stop now or we will do it for you'. We are going to hit them hard irrespective of their size," Mckenzie said. (Words, words and more words.... )

"The people of the province, specifically disadvantaged communities, have borne the brunt of the negative effects of liquor. In the Western Cape, our foetal alcohol syndrome figures are the highest in the world.

"When you close down shebeens in residential areas, their owners may decide to move their operations to commercial areas.

"If they can run their businesses there properly, it can be economically successful for them. This is what we want," he said. (Eh???? Make up your mind? What do you want? More alcohol or less - that is the question)

Jacob Zuma smokes zol.... but it's not cannabis!!!!

ANC president Jacob Zuma did smoke "zol" with the late activist Billy Nair - but it was not dagga; just tobacco rolled in paper, the ruling party said today.

"The African National Congress has noted reports in a number of newspapers today [Friday] suggesting that ANC President Jacob Zuma and the late Billy Nair smoked dagga," said spokeswoman Jessie Duarte.

"Speaking yesterday [Thursday] at the funeral service of struggle veteran Billy Nair, Zuma said that the two used to smoke ’zol’ together.

"He was talking about tobacco rolled in paper, often referred to on Robben Island as ’zol’," Duarte said in a statement.

She added however that the "ANC understands how Zuma’s statement could have been misunderstood."

"For the record, Zuma and Nair did not smoke dagga together," concluded Duarte.

Lies Lies and more Lies.... Funny how Jacob Zuma is not able to speak for himself? If you believe what is said he is set to be our next president. I hope that Jacob Zuma did smoke some cannabis with Billy Nair - at least that means he knows how to share!!!

Bystander shot dead at Drug Arrest

Cape Town metro police shot and killed a man and arrested another for being in possession of drugs in Philippi on Thursday. (IOL)

The 28-year-old man was arrested after he ran from police when they tried to search him in Heinz Park shortly before 11am, Captain Ntomboxolo Sitshitshi said in a statement.

In the bag he was carrying they found 35 mandrax tablets and three drinking straws filled with "tik", with a total value of around R6 000.

During the man's arrest local residents began throwing stones at metro police. A Heinz Park man allegedly fired a shot at them. Metro police fired back, killing him.

A .38 special firearm found in the dead man's possession was confiscated. A 25-year-old man from the area was arrested for malicious damage to property after he allegedly damaged a police vehicle during the stone-throwing.

You just have to love the locals who start stoning the police....

Death Clock for Tobacco....

The World Health Organisation (WHO) and anti-smoking activists unveiled a "death clock" tracking how many people will die from tobacco use to mark a new campaign against the illicit tobacco trade. (Illicit tobacco trade???? Eh?)

The WHO said it expects tobacco to kill more than 5 million people this year. (No word on the Cannabis Death Clock...? Hardly ever moves....?)

Cape Town drivers face "random" drug tests

South Africa has followed the example of Australia and is introducing "random" drug tests at roadblocks.

"Most of the young people who die on the city's roads, died because they they were on some kind of drug," said Community Safety MEC Patrick McKenzie. Of course not to point a finger at any drug IN PARTICULAR.... let's pick on them all.

The apparatus would be launched as part of the city's Safer Festive Season programme and the city's campaign against unruly road users.

The question stands. What happens when a member of the public tests positive? Asked whether test results could stand up in court, McKenzie said consultation with prosecution authorities was under way.

"We are having our legal department check up on this for us," and then he saluted policemen and women for their efforts in fighting crime and lamented a situation where sterling work by detectives came to nought, because prosecutors failed to do a proper job.... unlike politicians who don't do their jobs properly and think things through?

What a total and absolute FARCE. The department will deploy this new technology without having checked out the legality of trying to rely on test for a conviction. So the first driver to get pulled over will be...? Put in the back of the van? Then what? The unintended consequences of this "policy" are going to be laughable... There is no point using the test unless you are going to be able to rely on it in court - and there is no way that some little cellphone sized gadget is going to be totally accurate. In fact - before this test is foisted on the public I think that all parlaimentarians should be forced to take it before sitting in session.... Driving the Country drunk and drugged? I wonder what we'll find?

What are the consequences of a false positive test? The first person "caught" in Australia was INNOCENT... and the poor guy has had his name dragged through papers....

Police raid shebeens - spitting in the ocean

Police have been raiding illegal shebeens in informal settlements in Athlone, resulting in the closure of some operations.

This is like spittin' in the ocean - there are 30 000 shebeens in Cape Town and the police are only closing "some operations". Any follow up on where the illegal alcohol came from? Of course not....

Smoking Cigarettes makes you stupid!

Smoking kills.... and smokers face a speedier decline in several measures of cognitive function by middle age compared with their non-smoking peers, new research shows.

If you are stupid enough to smoke then you are destined to be stupid in old age as well.... thanks tobacco...

Huge Bust in Cape Town - 4kg's of Heroin!

Three men were arrested in connection with drugs worth R4,6-million in Bishop Lavis and Athlone in Cape Town, Western Cape police said on Saturday.

During a search police confiscated four kilograms of heroin, three kilograms of Tik, 2 000 Mandrax tablets and one kilogram of Ephedrine found in two rooms and a bathroom on the premises.

Free foetal alcohol syndrome tests

In an attempt to help curb the spread of foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), the City of Cape Town is expanding its free testing, screening and growth monitoring services to all city clinics.

The strategy also known as "Closing the stable door after the horse has bolted" was announced on Wednesday, South Africa's National FAS Day, by Deputy Mayor Grant Haskin.

"FAS is completely preventable if only both parents of unborn children, particularly the moms-to-be, understood the damage they are doing to their babies and made the informed decision to abstain from alcohol for the duration of the pregnancy," Haskin said.

"It's a lifelong and irreversible disability."

The Western Cape has one of the highest rate of babies born with FAS in the world. The syndrome affects 24 000 South African babies every year.

And out of every 1 000 children in the Western Cape, 88 are living with FAS, while in the Northern Cape the figure per 1 000 is 122. In the United States the figure is fewer than one child in every 1 000.

The syndrome is caused by the mother's consumption of alcohol while pregnant, preventing the brain of the foetus from developing properly.

The physical and mental damage can include attention deficit disorder, low IQ level, facial deformities, immune system malfunctioning, memory loss and low birth weight.

At any given time, 500 000 South Africans suffer from FAS disorders.

"The Western Cape has the highest level of youth binge drinking, 34 percent, where the national average is 23 percent," Haskin said. Cape Town has a 24/7 toll free Alcohol and Drug helpline: 0800435748.

- Cape Times

Are Shebeens SAFER for young drinkers ?

An age-gap war has broken out at shebeens in some Cape Town townships and owners are turning young people away because they often become violent, noisy or rude.

The friction turned tragic when two teenage boys were stoned to death, possibly by an angry mob of drinkers, after trying to force their way into a shebeen in Khayelitsha last Sunday.

Anele Kholisa, 18, and Banele Montile, 17, started arguing with the owner, demanding to be let inside, and the situation became nasty.

When police arrived they found the bodies of the two teenagers lying covered in blood with a concrete slab nearby. Nobody has yet been arrested in connection with the double murder.

Superintendent Andre Traut said police regarded the stoning incident "as an isolated matter, rather than a trend in the townships".

"Alcohol abuse is a contributing factor to violence and therefore contributes to serious assaults and murders."

But the owner of another shebeen in Langa, who asked to remain anonymous, said shebeen owners definitely preferred older patrons and some had even banned young people.

"I have been running my business for a long time so I have come to know my customers very well. I prefer the older folks because they want to enjoy their drinks, listen to music, braai and talk about sport.

"The young ones like to pick fights, they want to argue over nothing once they have had one too many drinks."

The owner said she understood the problem of young people drinking too much but she also needed to earn a living.

"I have a trading licence, I can't afford to lose it, which is why I try to sell responsibly. I allow them to buy if they are of legal age but they (young people) know that they are not allowed to drink here."

A regular at the shebeen added: "How can we hang out with our children? Even if we know that they drink, we can't hang out at the same spot. They must find their own drinking place."

"It is also about cultural values; my culture does not allow me to drink with my children because we see that as a sign of disrespect."

Another patron at the shebeen, Buti Ngalo, said young people tended to think they were "cool" when they drank and because they wanted to fit in with their peers, they succumbed to pressure and ended up abusing alcohol.

An owner at another Langa shebeen, who also asked not to be named, said it was important to keep to regular trading hours, know the young people in the area and respect other residents' space.

"As you can see my shebeen is not far from a school so I do not trade during school hours. I would not want a situation where schoolkids bunk classes and come to drink at my place so I am strict about the way I operate my shebeen."

He said he was a community leader and therefore understood the rules that needed to be followed.

"I have heard about incidents where young people have either stabbed each other or fought over a girl; that is why security is one of the priorities in my shebeen." - Cape Argus

'Unga' joins tik as Cape drug of choice

"Unga", a highly addictive heroin-based drug, has reached a tipping point across communities of the Western Cape, and is now a major drug of choice on the Cape Flats.

According to Grant Jardine, director of the Cape Town Drug Counselling Centres, the build-up of unga in low-income communities has been a gradual one, but this year has marked the turning point.

"For the first few months of this year," he says, "heroin was our number one presenting drug for the first time.

"This indicates that heroin use is definitely on the increase amongst people in the disadvantaged areas that we serve, but the attention has all landed on tik which has masked the rise of heroin."

'Five years ago, heroin was found mainly in the middle class'

According to Andreas Pluddemann, a senior scientist at the Medical Research Council's Alcohol and Drug Abuse Research Unit, "Five years ago, heroin was found mainly in the middle class".

"But that has all changed, and it is now highly prevalent in lower socio-economic groups in the form of unga."

At the same time, the age at which people are experimenting with drugs is younger, says Jardine, and while the percentage of youngsters trying drugs is also higher, the type of drugs they are using has also changed to harder, more addictive ones like heroin.

Lara Foot-Newton, who directed Addicted to Life - an interactive theatre production aimed at school learners in high-risk communities, says that during every performance of her play, when the narrator says that it is not just about tik because in years to come, there will be something to replace it, the learners in the audience shout out "unga".

But, she adds, the name of a specific drug "gets hype just like a brand name, and the word spreads really quickly, but the real problem here is the general culture of substance and alcohol abuse".

'...the street value of a unit of unga is just R30 or R40'

Jardine says that, as a result, "just targeting tik is ineffective because in a few years, it is going to be something else and then something else."

Lionel Newton, who was instrumental in the field research for the script of Addicted to Life, says that "one of the reasons it is flooding the market is because of the war in Afghanistan where the heroin comes from, and this in turn means that unga is far more readily available and cheaper".

Pluddemann says it is also cheaper because it is sold in smaller units, and is less concentrated and of a poor quality.

"The price difference between tik and unga is now relatively small," he says, "and the street value of a unit of unga is just R30 or R40."

The two drugs, however, are not competing for a market but are in fact exacerbating the use of each other.

Says Pluddemann, "Unga is marketed as a good agent to accompany tik because it has the opposite effect.

"Tik keeps you on a high and awake for hours, so people need something to bring them down and help them sleep. And so heroine too becomes more popular."

Jardine says such combinations of substance use are highly common.

"It is extremely rare that someone with a substance abuse problem uses only one drug. One often has a 'drug of choice' but it is rare that that will be the only drug she or he is using."

Cape Flats rapper "Hoppie", who was once an addict but now uses his music to speak out against substance abuse, says he was part of the Cape Flats drug culture for seven consecutive years, and that during that time, he never just used one type of drug.

"I was part of a world where dagga, mandrax, ecstasy, rocks, tik and heroin were nothing unusual, an during that time I did so many things I am not comfortable with and which I now regret." - Cape Argus