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WELL DONE, MR. MINISTER!

Jul 03, 2015 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

The proposed decision by the Minister of Public Security to ensure that bars, pubs and clubs shut off their music by 2 a.m. is not going to be popular.  There is going to be a great deal of resentment over this decision.
However, in my opinion it is the right decision. When it comes to public safety, the need for greater controls and discipline should always take precedence over popularity.
Governments have in the past been forced to implement highly unpopular decisions in the interest of public safety. For example, there was a time when public transport vehicles were forced to take off their tints. There was a huge protest by minibus operators, but eventually they fell in line.
If the proposal is effective, it should not just be about stopping the music but also about the closing times for these premises. The proposed decision to have the various nightclubs close off operations by 2 a.m. is a welcome one. It has a number of advantages.
It will allow for greater order. Right now there is total disorder with no strict enforcement of the opening and closing times for these types of businesses. There are some businesses that seem to feel that there is no fixed time for opening and closing their businesses.
There are some businesses on Sheriff Street – the street that never sleeps – at which persons can be seen imbibing early on Sunday mornings. These persons are not early risers. They were there having a good time from since the night before and were sporting right through to daybreak. Sunrise will not find them at home, where they should be.
The proposed regulation will also help a great many parents to control their children, particularly the girls. Young girls are waiting until their parents are fast asleep around midnight and then they sneak out. They are not missing anything, because most of the action gets going at the night clubs way past midnight. The action goes right through to the next morning.
All of that will change if the proposed regulation is implemented and this will ensure that these young girls who like to sneak out cannot do so anymore. It will also allow for an improvement in morals.
I do not need to tell anyone what happens when some young girls leave these night spots around four in the morning. They make a pit stop at some speakeasy. They get drunk and are taken advantage of. The next morning they have to rush to the pharmacy to buy a “morning- after pill”.
We have also had problems with zoning in Guyana. The result has been that some bars and clubs are now located in residential areas. The number of such clubs in one street alone, Station Street, is frightening.
I really do not understand how people in that street are able to sleep given the fact that many of the bars are opened, playing music and selling liquor early into the mornings. The proposed measure will bring some order by at least having residents know at what time they may be able to get some sleep – two hours after midnight.
The other reason why night clubs and bars should be closed the latest by 2.00 a.m. is because experience around the world indicates that this is a measure which has worked to help reduce fights, accidents and crime.
You are not likely to find, in some developed countries, alcohol being sold after 10.00 pm on most weeknights and on Sundays. The bars are prohibited from selling. You can sit there and sip on your last beer until whenever you want, but there is no way after 10.00 pm, you are going to be able to buy another beer. There are huge penalties for violators and this has allowed the regulation to work.
I have no doubt that enforcement of the proposed regulation will be difficult. Enforcing any change in Guyana is difficult. But a start has to be made and the habits of Guyanese will simply have to change. Instead of leaving home for the club at 11.00 p.m. they will simply have to leave at 7.30 p.m. This is good discipline, the type of discipline needed to bring order to this crazy country. Well done Mr. Minister of Public Security!

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