GRAAFF -REINET NEWS - Some Graaff-Reinet residents still remember Jabula Hall, Graaff-Reinet's municipal beerhall, now the site of Khanyisa Daycare Centre.

In 1949, after extensive research into the income-generating potential that council-owned township beerhalls present for towns, the Graaff-Reinet Town Council decided to establish a beerhall at the entrance to uMasizakhe, then known as the "Location."

These plans were met with outrage from the Location community and beyond, especially from churches and women's organisations.

 The "Arm van Hulp Tempel" wrote a letter to the town council saying that people lived "van die hand tot die mond" and that the beerhall would have a detrimental impact on the lives of women, children and youth in the township.

The town council motivated that the income generated from the beerhalls would be used to improve the appalling conditions in the Location but hundreds of residents, led by the Lokasie Vrouebond (Location Womens' Association) signed a petition against the proposed beerhall.

The petition letter ended with: "No, we would rather live in badly constructed homes and walk across rough and unmade streets than have our men spend their money at the beer hall and come home drunk and penniless, along the most beautiful of streets."

Despite the outcry, the town council went ahead with their beerhall plans in 1954.

Fast-forward sixty-eight years. Directly opposite the old beerhall site, on the corner of North and Hope Street, plans are afoot to establish a bottle store with a drinking venue on Hope Street. 

Businesswoman Chantelle Marais recently purchased the property. While the streets are residential, the building was sold with business rights and the sale of alcohol is one of Marais' business plans. 

Local residents were invited to a community meeting to discuss Marais' proposal as part of her Liquor Board application requirements.

Two meetings took place, both largely attended by women, young and old and chaired by the ward councilor Ricardo Smith.

Many still live "van die hand tot die mond." Women stood up to speak of the devastating effects of alcohol consumption in their homes, their fears that alcohol consumption would affect the safety of the streets and place the many children who live and play in Hope Street at risk. 

Others expressed shock that Hope Street could even be considered as a suitable area for public recreation.

In 2021 Hope Street residents sent a petition to the municipality noting the area is unsafe for children, is used as a dumping ground, that passersby use the steps in Hope Street as toilets, and the infrastructure requires urgent intervention. 

To date no response from the municipality has been forthcoming, little has been attended to and the use of the street as a public dump has escalated. Crime in the area is high and the police presence is poor.

In both meetings, the women agreed that any other business initiative is welcomed and would be supported. But not the sale of alcohol. While Marais noted the concerns she was clear that she intended to apply for a liquor license, and that the community should accept "development."

A letter expressing residents' concerns was drafted by Smith and signed by the majority of residents, to accompany Marais' application to the Liquor Board.

However last week Ndumiso Camngca, the town planning manager, indicated that "while the property is zoned as Business Zone 1, the landowner must still submit a consent use application to access the rights to run a tavern or a bottle store. The application will be subjected to due process and procedures that include public participation."

The public participation process will ensure that the range of community voices on both sides of this ongoing issue is heard.

Watch this space!

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