Troukler - Making sense of the Licensing Incident

Troukler

Making Sense of the Licensing Incident

The people of Seychelles have been bombarded with the news recently of the problems at a local discotheque. The whole country knows which discotheque but the authorities will not name it but when a take away is shut down for violation we know exactly which one. Is that because there is a government official involved? But let’s leave that aside for now and focus on the information given.

According to Seychelles Nation Vol. XXIX No.178 (Tuesday September 19 2006), a communiqué from the Seychelles Licensing Authority (SLA) has said that depending on the result of the police case the board will then decide on the action against the licensee. The still unnamed discotheque has had its license suspended.

The Licensing Authority is in a way saying that they’ve done their part. Now, if and when the police does theirs or depending on the action of the police, they will then be in a position to proceed with their final action. There is no deadline given for the waiting period.

The discussion around town is that underage persons are getting access regularly to community centers; what is the difference? According to SLA, there are two or three type of licenses (i) discotheque, (ii) nightclub (almost similar to (i)) and (iii) dancehall license.

Now while minors are not allowed at all in (i) and (ii) they are allowed in (iii) provided that no alcoholic beverages are sold on the premises when activities are organized for them or when they are present. Drug and Alcohol Council (DAC) will surely confirm that generally this is not the case. Minors flock to the ‘sant sosyal’ and get their drinks in there and dance their true dance hall style (a variation of Reggae music) music right there to the applause and the encouragement of the adults much like the pictures revealed except that the clothing is somewhat a little bit more covered than what that person had on in the picture.

As a concerned citizen, we want to know what the police is waiting on. If they are stuck, why not contact the Social Services and the National Council for Children to see how they are going to handle the matter of indecent exposure by a minor in a public place. The country is waiting. Last year an underage young lady stabbed her male partner in an incident at St. Louis and she is now serving her sentence. There is a law against indecent exposure in public places in Seychelles; I hope that the force has learnt about that at the academy. The parent and or guardian of that minor also share the responsibility.

This is a good chance to see how the rights and responsibilities of children come into play. In no way are we asking the country to judge the person but with the right information given, we will all be in a position to make an informed decision on the matter. This is about educating the mass to take up their individual responsibility in the community.

We know the venue, we know the licensee, we know who committed the offence, most of all there is evidence that cannot be lost because a lot of people still have those pictures on their PC just in case the police looses theirs. Get moving - Save our children, our treasure, our future.

Let’s Celebrate Responsibility for a change (isn’t that the year of Celebrate Seychelles?)