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Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, Gwanda Correspondent
RESIDENTS from Gwanda have raised concern over the mushrooming of shebeens in the town and bottle stores operating till the early hours of the morning in the wake of an upsurge of Covid-19 cases.
Locals have pointed out that besides being a menace to society these shebeens and bars could become a hotspot for the pandemic.
Gwanda Town has recorded about 65 Covid-19 cases over the past three weeks.
Mrs Lerato Moyo from Phakama Suburb said there was a need for police to contain the illegal activities.
“We have a serious problem of shebeens that are sprouting all over the place and some serve as brothels as well.
These are activities that occur within our community but we don’t see the police doing much to arrest these culprits.
Bottle stores and nightclubs operate up until 3AM and you wonder where the police are in such instances.
“These shebeens and bottle stores have become a meeting point for these people and they don’t even observe Covid-19 regulations. This is really concerning especially now that we have recorded an increase in Covid-19 cases.
These shebeens and bars will end up becoming hotspots for the pandemic and as a community we will be greatly affected,” she said.
Mr Edward Ndlovu also from Phakama suburb in Gwanda said they managed to heave a sigh of relief during the previous levels of the lockdown when bars were closed.
He said now that they were open there was a lot of criminal activities and violence taking place within the community.
Mr Ndlovu said some of the patrons leave the bars in the early hours of the morning and engage in rowdy behaviour.
“We have in the past had problems with patrons that fight in these bars and shebeens and then their fights spill into the community and they vandalise property.
Now that the bars are open, we are experiencing this violence almost on a daily basis. Some of these fights will be as a result of people fighting over the services of commercial sex workers,” he said.
Ward 8 Councillor, Ntuthuko Ndebele said there were a number of shebeens that were sprouting in his ward.
He said these shebeens were also operating as brothels.
Clr Ndebele said some of the ladies that were using the brothels come from as far as Zvishavane and Mutare.
He said at times the shebeen owners were apprehended but were later released and they would come back and resume their operations.
“My area of jurisdiction covers Phakama Suburb and Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle and there are shebeens sprouting in these two areas although the situation is more serious in Phakama Suburb.
What makes the situation even worse in Phakama Suburb is that there are bars and bottle stores which operate till the early hours of the morning. There are a lot of fights that begin in these shebeens and bottle stores and then spill into the community. Ladies come from as far as Zvishavane and Mutare to book at these brothels overnight.
“We sometime wake up to see used condoms lying all over the place which is unacceptable especially in a community that has children. We want the police to do something about this situation. These activities will only result in the spread of Covid-19 within the town,” he said.
Speaking recently during a Gwanda District taskforce committee on Covid-19 meeting, Officer in Charge Gwanda Urban Inspector John Mabhungu said as the police they were facing serious resistance from bottle store liquor licence holders as some were allowing customers to linger around their premises and drink beer after buying.
He said some bottle stores were operating till late at night yet according to the Statutory Instrument 216 they were supposed to operate up until 4:30PM as part of efforts to curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said police were going to tighten efforts to enforce regulations. — @DubeMatutu
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