(UPDATED) Bar owners want their two hours back

Members of the Barkeepers and Operators Association are calling on the Prime Minister to give them back the two hours between 8 pm and 10 pm which had been taken away because of errant patrons and owners at some bars.

At a protest on Thursday at the Queen’s Park Savannah opposite Whitehall, which houses the Office of the Prime Minister, they also asked for some relief on their upcoming payments for bar licenses and gambling taxes.

Interim President Teron Mohan said they were giving government 48 hours to respond to the pre-action protocol letter sent to the Minister of Health before beginning court proceedings. He said the association was asking for a meeting with those in authority, as they have not been able to meet with anyone despite sending letters to the Attorney General, the Ministry of Trade and Finance, and the Prime Minister. He said official correspondence had not been sent to the Health Ministry or the Chief Medical Officer, but the association tried to reach out to both entities through various channels.

Mohan called on the police and the Ministry of Health to keep their promises regarding the checks to be done on bars.

“Police have been out there checking these bars regularly and letting those people know they’re in breach of this or that, so what is the reason for the collective stroke now to lock off so many people for that reason? Just because of a few errant bar owners? Hold them, reprimand them, let them be accountable for what they are doing. We are law-abiding citizens, we’re paying our taxes.”

Interim vice president Sateesh Moonasar said it is unfair that restaurants with bars were allowed to open until 10 pm, while bars had to close at 8 pm. He also said it was unfair that government expected them to pay gaming taxes and renew bar licenses at the end of the month.

“We have been closed for over three months with no income coming into our establishments. How is it fair for us to pay an entire year’s taxation? That’s not fair at all and these are some of the reasons why we are asking government to come to us so we can have some form of dialogue and come to an arrangement for these things.”

Bar operator Sheldon Nurse said the punitive measure seems to be specifically aimed at bar owners. He said if government can identify the errant bars, they should punish them and let the rest of the members run their businesses as normal.

“Apparently the government doesn’t regard the bars as businesses, because the treatment being meted out says so.”