Unlicensed liquor outlets operating in schools and institutions of higher learning, as well as illegal immigrants, scrapyards and pawn shops involved in illegal operations, will become the primary targets of the government's effort to step up the fight against crime in Durban and surrounding areas.
This was the warning issued by provincial Minister for Community Safety and Liaison, Bheki Cele, at a report-back meeting on 2004's eThekwini Safety and Security Imbizo.
The meeting was attended by Durban Mayor Obed Mlaba, Roman Catholic Cardinal Wilfred Napier and Colin Butler of the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Cele said the first phase of response to the safety summit had recorded notable achievements, with several liquor establishments in Durban facing prosecution or having been shut down for contravening liquor regulations.
Progress was also made in problem areas involving street children, informal traders, begging, hostels and schools, and community safety.
Cele told provincial and local government officials, religious leaders and business representatives that there was a proliferation of shebeens in the city centre, at institutions of higher learning and in townships.
"There is a direct link between liquor and crime and every second establishment in the city is a shebeen. We cannot allow this situation to continue," he said.
The imbizo was launched amid much fanfare in September by Cele and City Manager Mike Sutcliffe to come up with effective crime-fighting strategies aimed at making Durban conducive to business and tourism.
Speaking about the progress that had been made since the summit, Cele said he was "comfortable but not happy", adding that more work needed to be done to achieve the summit's objectives.
"A certain higher education institution is running a shebeen on campus, while some houses in the townships are selling liquor to schoolchildren. We will raid these shebeens and close them down because we send our kids to school so they can be future leaders, not to get drunk," Cele said.
Richard Dobson, of the city's inner rejuvenation project I-Trump, said the apparent indiscriminate issuing of liquor licences had become a major management challenge.
"The immediate implementation of a multi-agency approach could have effective short-term results in curbing the proliferation of liquor outlets," he said.