Mayor’s Assoc. discuss changes to liquor act
As the business community gets ready to work under the revised Liquor Licensing Act, the Mayors Association is still ironing out the kinks. Today, the association held a symposium in Belmopan to address concerns of the amendments. News 5’s Jacqueline Woods reports.
Jcaqueline Woods, Reporting
With the amendments to the Liquor Licensing Act almost law, the Mayor’s Association is charged with taking charge of the implementation process. Belize City Mayor David Fonseca explains the objective of the revisions.
Mayor David Fonseca, President, Mayor’s Association
“To cut down as much as possible the amount of alcohol that is consumed by any one person during the course of the day or night. Of course, what it does is to… It makes the individual more productive, by having less alcohol intake. And the amendments to the act that we’ve made recently, is to do just that; to put in place the licenses that exist in the proper form, whereby there’s more control, not total control, but more control as to how liquor is consumed throughout the communities within the country.”
But as any informal survey will reveal, access to liquor in Belize is too easy, with just about every street boasting at least three alcohol selling stores. Records indicate that there are three to four times more establishments selling liquor than there were six years ago. Unfortunately, the resources of the authorities responsible for curtailing over-consumption of alcohol has not grown with the businesses, and enforcement of the law is not what it should be. According to some, the amendments to the law will not improve this situation.
Marconi Sosa, Benque Viejo Mayor
“Strenghtening the provisions of the act does not necessarily allow for stronger enforcement. The police need to act upon the act as the act is written, because there is a lot of weaknesses within the department in getting around liquor licence holders, and being extremely bias, and thus not allowing the police to enforce their duty and authority as the act requires. “
David Fonseca
“While the police is the enforcing body, they have not grown to match that increase by the liquor establishments, and of course, the population itself was increased, so there’s more people out there consuming alcohol. Because of its readiness for consumption at any one point, it makes it even more difficult for us to enforce it.”
Fonseca says that the Belize City Council has done its best to assist the officers by collaborating on weekend programmes where officers check for licenses at as many shops as possible. Violators are then issued court summons, but admittedly not much has changed. The amendments to the act will also include an increase in fees.
David Fonseca
“It’s a two fold thing as I see it as I see it. One, is the increase in fees is to weed out some of the out unwanted establishments that are not there really for business, but for other purposes. And also, the increase gives additional funds to the local authority, whereby we can actually provide by using those funds for better enforcement with the police to enforce the Liquor Licensing Laws.”
Reporting for News 5, Jacqueline Woods.
At today’s symposium, the National Fire Service also recommended the idea of fire certificates for businesses since many establishments, in the interest of security, have imprisoned themselves inside their buildings creating serious fire hazards.
