President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday that although the relevant authorities are working on ensuring there is justice for the Enyobeni tavern victims, citizens need to address the issue of under-age drinking.

Just over a week ago, in the early hours of a Sunday morning, 21 children were found dead in a tavern in the township of Scenery Park outside East London, the youngest child was only 13 years old.

Ramaphosa noted that the increased social acceptability of young people drinking alcohol had become a serious problem in a country where the majority of the drinking population are already classified by the World Health Organization as binge drinkers.

He said the footage and images posted online of the so-called ‘pens down’ party at the venue that night showed revelling youngsters clutching bottles of alcohol. Many of those in the images looked barely out of their teens.

“Even as the relevant authorities deconstruct what happened to ensure there is justice for the victims, there is a conversation we do need to have as a country. It is the problem of under-age drinking,” he explained.

Ramaphosa warned that alcohol use amongst adolescents was associated with impaired function, absenteeism from learning, alcohol-related injuries, suicidal thoughts and attempts, and risky behaviour.

He added that another reality is that alcohol is a form of escapism for young people in communities were opportunities for safe and age-appropriate recreation are few.

“We must come together to combat this vice that is robbing our young people of the best years of their lives and making them susceptible to alcohol addiction. As families it means having open and frank conversations about alcohol and setting boundaries. Children under the age of 18 consuming alcohol is against the law,” Ramaphosa said.

He said it was not the first time the country had 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.

ENFORCING REGULATIONS ON ALCOHOL

The proliferation of establishments openly flouting the law points to failings on the part of authorities to enforce regulations.

“Under the National Liquor Act, owners of establishments with liquor licenses may not sell alcohol to anyone under the age of 18. They must also take reasonable steps to ensure anyone they are selling alcohol to is of age,” he said.

Ramaphosa called on communities to work with authorities to ensure that taverns, shebeens, entertainment venues and outlets breaking the law face consequences.

He further urged the police to step up the enforcement of laws that prohibited the sale of alcohol close to schools and enhance monitoring of outlets to ensure alcohol was not being sold to minors.

“Let us work together to protect our precious future generation from the ravages of alcohol and drug abuse and their effects. Let us work together to ensure that those who put profit before the lives of our children are not allowed to operate. Let us also set a positive example in our own relationship with alcohol,” he said.