Pretoria - Liquor traders in Pretoria have vowed to respect school uniforms by not selling alcohol to anyone wearing them to commemorate Youth Day on June 16.
Under the banner of Concerned Liquor Traders, they gathered at Vista View in Mamelodi East on Tuesday, where they pledged not to support the tradition of celebrating the day in school uniforms.
The traders said that as much as they were not allowed to sell liquor to police officers in their uniforms, school uniforms should not be any different as it was equally important.
Oupa Mthombeni, leader of the Concerned Liquor Traders, said school uniforms represented pupils. “We do not care whether you are an adult or not; if you are in a school uniform we will treat you as child out of respect for the uniform and not sell alcohol to you,” he said.
Mthombeni said such a rule should be implemented by the government as well in order to stop under-age drinking once and for all.
“With this initiative, we want to fight against under-age drinking and minimise liquor abuse because young people do not know how to handle their drinking. Nyaope is already taking over our communities and we cannot let that be the case about liquor,” he said.
Mthombeni said the organisation was going to challenge big supermarkets to also comply with this initiative to stop selling liquor to anyone wearing school uniforms on Youth Day irrespective of age.
Tavern owner Bogadi Matsemela said she was 100% behind the initiative as people should learn that Youth Day meant celebrating the young people, and not for everyone to be going out drinking in school uniforms.
“Such things are mostly done by uneducated people who feel they should wear school uniforms and chill at a tavern. We are the mirror of our children; they follow everything their elders do. If we let adults do such things in front of the children, the young ones will assume such behaviour is correct,” Matsemela said.
Mthombeni told the Pretoria News they would be working with the SAPS to help facilitate and make sure the initiative was complied with.
Anyone found selling liquor to a minor or person in uniform will be fined.
If push came to shove, it would get to the point of closing down taverns that did not comply, he added.
Pretoria News