Africa-Press – South-Africa. President Cyril Ramaphosa has raised concerns about the normalisation of underage drinking in the country.
In his weekly letter to the nation, Ramaphosa said it was worrying that so many young people drink alcohol.
The 21 youngsters who died at the Enyobeni tavern in Scenery Park, East London, will be buried in a mass funeral this week. The teenagers, aged 13 to 17, are suspected to have died from carbon monoxide poisoning.
The Buffalo City Municipality is investigating how the tavern was built in a residential area and whether the structure complied with safety regulations. Police have also opened inquests into the deaths.
Ramaphosa said the country should use their deaths to have a conversation about underage drinking.
“A number of young people from Scenery Park have told the media of having seen a post circulated on social media, offering free rounds of alcohol to all who attended the event that night.”
Ramaphosa added:
He said families needed to have honest conversations with young people about the dangers of alcohol.
“It is not the first time we have been confronted with tragic events such as what happened in Scenery Park last week. A common denominator between Enyobeni tavern, the Throb nightclub disaster in Durban in 2000, and the Osi’s tavern tragedy in Khayelitsha in 2015, is that these establishments were selling liquor to minors.
“The proliferation of establishments openly flouting the law points to failings on the part of authorities to enforce regulations.”
In March 2000, at Throb nightclub in Chatsworth, Durban, 13 youngsters aged 11 to 18 died in a stampede. This after a tear gas canister was thrown into the venue.
In 2015, eight women died when a metal railing attached to a staircase collapsed at Osi’s place in Khayelitsha, Cape Town.
Ramaphosa said government needed to put facilities in communities in place to keep young people occupied.
“The Scenery Park community has pointed to the lack of sports, learning and other developmental facilities for young people, leading them to resort to ‘tavern hopping’.
“As government at national, provincial and local level, we need to respond to the pleas of this community and those of other communities by developing more recreational spaces, facilities, programmes, and projects for our young people in disadvantaged areas in the province.”
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