Maun Authorities Killing Fun

Monitor Editor | Monday November 23, 2015 09:45

Fun lovers, it was claimed, are accused of illegal gathering in front of nightclubs, littering, indulging in sex and throwing used condoms in the rivers and in front of nightclubs.

The byelaw officers closed a nightclub and sealed off popular riverbank spots commonly referred to as  ‘beaches’ by revellers. Many are complaining that the crackdown will affect local tourism in Maun over the festive season. Because of this overzealous decision by the authorities, 24 employees of the club are now jobless.

Apparently, the club management was warned several times to operate within stipulated hours to no avail. We sympathise with the authorities. But we feel the crackdown on fun the way the authorities did in Maun, a popular tourism area, was overzealous. It is also likely to attract unnecessary lawsuit by the offended party and if the council loses, public funds will be used to pay the costs. Crackdowns like these are likely to chase away tourists in Maun.

Why decide to close down the club instead of charging them a penalty? We believe that the authorities took sides in this case. They are protecting some interest. The complainants in this matter are some businesspersons who are against the club operating in their periphery.

And again what is wrong with people gathering by the riverbank if they do not litter the place? Instead of chasing away people from the riverbank why not teach them to take care of the environment? We agree that it is against the law to make love in public areas like riverbanks, but chasing away people is not the solution.

Why not charge the offenders instead of purging all those who are having a legitimate fun. We agree with one councillor in Maun who said the council has to find a solution to the entertainment problems before the festive season begins. We are against lawlessness, but killing the thriving businesses and entertainment industry is not the solution.

We hope sanity will prevail before we kill tourism potential in Maun and other tourism attractive areas. We need the foreign currency brought by tourists to Maun and it is a fact that tourists are fun lovers.