Mosele slams govt over slashed liquor hours

LEKOPANYE MOOKETSI
Correspondent | Thursday March 25, 2010 00:00

 

He lamented that musicians are not getting jobs because of the revised liquor regulations. Nightclub operating hours have been reduced since the revised liquor regulations came into effect in 2008. Nightclubs close at 10pm on Sundays and at midnight during the week.  Over the weekends, they close at 2am.

Mosele, who is based in Norway, has always come to his home country to stage shows.  But he said since the revised regulations came into effect, nightclub owners are not hosting live bands because it is not cost effective.  He said nightclub owners could not share the little that they are making.  

'Nightclub were creating employment for us.  We used to stage shows at places like Satchmo's, but they have stopped them,' he said.   Mosele said throughout his life he has always used music to put food on the table.

He blamed the government for killing their business by reducing business hours. He decried that the regulations do not favour artistes.  He said the government should have known that the new regulations would affect the music industry.

Mosele said they have lost their major source of income.  'I am talking about performing artists and those who are aspiring to win awards,' he said.   To him, this is a serious issue that the Botswana Musicians Union (BOMU) should be addressing.  He accused BOMU of being only interested in staging annual awards.

The much travelled muso said nightclubs operate after bars have closed all over the world.  He said people come to nightclubs after 10pm.

 'If you close at midnight, who will bother to come for two hours?' he said.

Mosele suggested the government could order nightclub bars closed at the stipulated time but allow the music to continue.  He said they could still continue to play music when the club has stopped serving liquor.

He considers nightclubs to be cultural and social meeting places.  He noted that nightclubs are not only meant to be drinking places.   He spoke about people who patronise nightclubs only to listen to the music and not to get drunk.

'In places like Oslo, nightclubs close at 4am but people still go to work.  The country is functioning.'

He gave another example of the neighbouring South Africa where nightclubs close in the morning but the country is still productive.  'We import everything from South Africa.  The South African people drink but they still work hard,' he illustrated.

Mosele said he is not playing the devil's advocate.  He is not advocating for alcoholic abuse.  He said he is not talking for liquor retailers, but he is expressing the views of most musicians. 

'If there is a problem of alcohol abuse in the country the government should conduct a research.  Closing a club at midnight does not mean that people will not drink.   Alcoholics are alcoholics, they will still drink.  Look, the price of beer is high but people are still drinking,' he said.

'I am not concerned about the beer prices, but the entertainment section.  People would come to the nightclubs to enjoy our music even without drinking.  The alcohol issue is not my concern.  I am concerned about the closing hours.

Musicians do not deal with alcohol it is only that we play at places where beer is sold.'

Mosele said in Botswana, there are no public theatres where people could go for entertainment.  'There must be facilities like that.  Go and look at Tsholofelo Park, it is  just a bush.  We should have recreational facilities where people could go for relaxation.

If you are saying people should not patronise bars, you should come up with alternative venues,' he said. 

The veteran artist conceded that the government has come up with some good initiatives but his only gripe is with the nightclubs' closing hours.  He feels it is high time that the revised regulations were revisited. 

'We should find some means of rectifying our social ills.  Of course I want people to drink responsibly,' he said, adding that there should be rehabilitation facilities for people who abuse alcohol. 

Mosele wondered why the bars in hotels are not affected by the same regulations.  'Are people drinking in hotels not abusing alcohol as well?' he questioned. 

He said casinos are another calamity.  'It is a miserable place where somebody has to put family money in a machine.  Casinos should also be closed on time but are left to operate for 24 hours.Casinos impoverish gamblers.  If you go to a casino, you will see how many people are gambling their lives away. 

They lose money, cars and even their houses,' he said, adding that the government is silent on casinos.