Donald Moore, Fish Hoek
I have lodged an objection to the Pick n Pay liquor licence application and I am encouraging as many residents of Fish Hoek to do so as possible.
The advertisement of the application appeared in the Provincial Gazette on February 3 2017 and at the same time the applicant placed the advertisement in the window of the unfortunate shop that has been selected as the premises where your client would like to establish the bottle store.
The Western Cape Liquor Act, as you know, requires that the advertisement must also appear in a community newspaper in addition to the above advertising. The advertisement has not yet appeared in a community newspaper. I have been informed by the Liquor Board that arrangements have been made for the advertisement to appear in the False Bay Echo March 9 (this week). The advertising process is incomplete until the notice appears in the community news-
paper.
If the notice appears in the community newspaper on March 9, the period for objections will expire on April 6.
Confusion has arisen as to when the 28-day objection period expires. It can only expire 28 days after the advertising requirements of the act have been fully complied with. Because the advertisement appeared first in the Provincial Gazette on February 3, the impression has been created that the objection period expired on March 3 2017, 28 days after the notice appeared in the Provincial Gazette.
I adopted the cautious approach of telling people to get their objection in before that March 3 and publicity was given to that date in various news media but it is now clear that that date was wrong.
I have heard today from one citizen of Fish Hoek that when he tendered a copy of his objection to Pick n Pay today he was informed by the staff member he was dealing with that the objection period had expired.
Please make sure that your client and its staff do not convey this incorrect information to anybody tendering a copy of an objection to the applicant.
If this happens it must be regarded in interfering with the right of the public to object and could result in the advertisement of the application having to be repeated or of the application being rejected on this
ground.
I have no interest in improving your client’s chances of success with its application but I do have the greatest interest in ensuring that the objection process is not interfered with by your client or anybody else.
I will be tendering copies of objections to the applicant and if I find that the incorrect information is given to me about the objection period I will draw this to the attention of the Liquor Officer for him to investigate.
