Bar owners protest outside White Hall

MEMBERS of the Barkeepers and Owners Association gathered outside Whitehall on Thursday morning calling on the authorities to give them back their full operating hours as well as some relief on the taxes which are due soon.

Interim president Teron Mohan called on the police to hold and reprimand errant bar owners whose actions caused the majority of the bar owners to lose hours of their operating time.

He called for the authorities to sit down face to face with the association, as he said it had not received any response to the correspondence it had sent to various ministries.

He said while the chief medical officer's office had acknowledged receipt of their proposals for following the public health regulations with respect for bars reopening, no consultation was held. He said he had not sent official correspondence to the health ministry or the CMO but had attempted to reach out to the minister and the CMO through various means.

Mohan said if the bar owners were given back their full operating hours, he could guarantee the members of the association would abide by the regulations. He challenged the TTPS to carry out the increased patrolling and surveillance which they had stated they would do to make sure those who broke the law were held accountable.

Vice President Satesh Moonasar said it was unfair that restaurants with bars attached were able to open until 10 pm but establishments whose livings depended solely on their bar license were being forced to close at 8 pm. He asked what the difference was between the two when it came to preventing the spread of the covid19 virus.

Mohan said bar owners were barely able to make enough to keep their establishments open on a daily basis. He said renewal of bar licenses and payment of taxes was due in August and it was unfair for government to expect them to pay taxes for a year when they had not been making money for the last three to four months. He said bar licenses cost between $1,800 to $4,500 while gaming taxes were $6,000 for wall machines and $120,000 per roulette machine.