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Sikhumbuzo Moyo, [email protected]
THE Liquor Licensing Board has released a revealing list of Bulawayo’s nightclubs and bars, separating the legal from the illegal, and highlighting a significant discrepancy — only seven bottle stores hold valid licences, while some of the 13 outlets operating under restaurant special licences are effectively running as nightclubs.

According to the Liquor Licensing Board, Zimbabwe boasts a complex system of 23 distinct liquor licences and permits.

These include, but are not limited to, the Airport liquor licence, Airport bottle liquor licence, Bar liquor licence, Beer-hall liquor licence, Bottle liquor licence, Special bottle liquor licence, Camp and caravan liquor licence, Casino liquor licence, Club liquor licence, Hotel liquor licence, Night-club liquor licence, Park area liquor licence, Passenger vessel liquor licence, Restaurant (ordinary) liquor licence, Restaurant (special) liquor licence, Theatre liquor licence, Theatre club liquor licence, Wholesale liquor licence, Wine producers liquor licence, Liquor Manufacturers licence, Beer-hall permit, Brewers permit, and Government institution permit.

Licence fees are tiered, varying according to the type of licence and the location of the establishment. Holiday resorts attract the highest fees, followed by municipalities, town councils, and Rural District Councils.

A week-long investigation conducted by Saturday Chronicle has exposed several licensing irregularities. Restaurant special outlets Hillside Dam Conservancy, Snappys (located on 6th Avenue in the city centre), and 747 are operating with expired licences, while koSamuriwo Pub and Grill in Luveve is operating entirely illegally.

KoSamuriwo Pub and Grill

In contrast, Umqombothi in Nkulumane, Rocomamas, Jadijo, Stunts, Emakhandeni Cricket Club, Downown, Blue Lagoon, and Langa, among other restaurant special outlets, are operating legally.
Of the 10 beer halls in the city, three City of Bulawayo-owned establishments — Mahadebe in Emakhandeni, Masina in Luveve, and Masilela in Gwabalanda — are operating with expired licences.

Ten outlets hold bar permits. The Boundary, located in Parkview, is operating illegally, while Khumalo Hockey Club and Good Grace at Barbourfields are operating with expired licences.
Similarly, two of the 14 nightclubs in the city, La Gondola and Royal Night Club, hold expired licences, and Club Forty 40 is operating illegally.

Waverly Night Club, Skittle Inn, Crystal Night Club, CN Marisha Mbiko Night Club in Old Magwegwe, Vintage Shisha, Pony Club Investment (operating as Cosmopolitan), Mahweba in Cowdray Park, 747 Night Club, The Vista, Hash Tag, and Club 263 are operating within legal parameters.

The Vista

“There are an estimated 520 liquor outlets in the city, of which 466 are holders of licences, leaving 54 outlets operating outside the law,” stated the LLB.

The regulatory authority identified Sterling Hotel as the sole hotel operating without a valid liquor licence.

All seven outlets owned by the Zimbabwe Republic Police, three at Ross Camp and one each in Queens Park, Sauerstown, and Donnington, are fully licensed, while no wholesale outlet holds a valid licence to sell liquor.

Although operating conditions differ for each licence category, several outlets with restaurant ordinary and restaurant special licences, which incur lower fees than nightclub licences, are effectively functioning as nightclubs.

According to the LLB handbook, bar outlets can sell beer daily between 10am and 11pm, as can beer hall outlets.

Bottle stores can sell alcohol daily between 8am and 8pm, while hotels, excluding Sundays, can sell liquor from 10:30am to 11:30pm, and until 10:30pm on Sundays. Nightclubs, excluding Sundays, operate from 8pm to 3am the following day, and until midnight on Sundays.

Restaurant ordinary outlets operate from 11am to 3pm, close for three hours, and then reopen from 6pm to 11pm. Restaurant special licence holders operate from 11am to 3pm and from 4pm to 11:30pm daily.

The Liquor Licensing Board (LLB) is a statutory body constituted under the Liquor Act Chapter 14:12 and the Liquor (General) Regulation S.I. 197 of 2004, mandated to regulate liquor distribution and sales in Zimbabwe. It regulates the manufacturing and distribution tiers of the liquor industry by registering manufacturers and distributors of liquor.