NIGHTCLUB opening hours and alcohol sale laws are doing more harm than good for businesses in Ba Town, claims a businessman.
Ba businessman Anil Amin said the opening hours for liquor shops had become a nuisance for shop owners who operated in the town area.
He raised the issue while calling on authorities to review the opening hours for liquor shops during the national budget consultation in Ba on Thursday.
“We have a lot of issues in Ba, especially for people roaming around town in the odd hours,” Mr Amin said.
“And every businessman is finding difficulty. When you wake up the next morning and open your business doors, there is blood there, there are people urinating on the front door of the shops.
“This is because of the timings for the closure of the liquor shops and nightclubs.
“These things need to be addressed, the timing for liquor sales in town, you have got to reduce the opening hours.
“And that will help the police department control the crowd roaming around in town.”
Mr Amin said women and young girls were not safe at night when trying to access essential services.
“They feel frightened to go to the ATM and withdraw their money because of unwanted people roaming around in town. So, these are issues affecting common people.”
Finance Minister Esrom Immanuel acknowledged the submission by Mr Amin, saying that the issue of security was also raised during previous consultations in Sigatoka and Nadi.
