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CRIMINAL charges of drug abuse and prostitution are being levelled against a notorious Sea Point escort agency which could see its business licence revoked as a result.

In what is believed to be the first case of its kind in Cape Town for almost a decade, the Good Hope subcouncil plans to suspend Madonna's Hostess Club and Bar's health and entertainment licence because it is "a nuisance".

According to subcouncil chairperson, councillor JP Smith, the city council issues licences for adult entertainment enterprises fairly indiscriminately because it has little say in the decision and is specifically bound by the 1991 Business Act's instructions that public opinion may not be taken into consideration. Proximity of such venues to places of worship or schools is also deemed by the Act to be irrelevant.

Once issued, licences are seldom revoked. So seldom, in fact, that the subcouncil had to call in legal opinion to assist it in drawing up new paperwork for the occasion.'

Madonna's, on the corner of Regent and Church Roads, has been the subject of residents' complaints for several years, with some alleging that staff openly solicit for sex in the street.

According to Smith, he has himself observed the "ladies of negotiable affections" at work outside the club.

In November last year, the subcouncil obtained an affidavit from the Sea Point police detailing nine counts of staff members contravening the Sexual Offences Act, the Liquor Act and the Drug Trafficking Act.

The subcouncil was yesterday awaiting state prosecutor Fiona Cloete's written confirmation to prosecute the accused. Smith said he believed if there was enough prima facie evidence for a prosecution, subcouncil would have grounds enough to suspend the club's business licence until the case was concluded.

If found guilty, it would be revoked entirely. If, on the other hand, there were no convictions, the ban would be lifted.

But the owner of the club, Tania Hansen, who has held the licence for Madonna?s since 2002, feels her establishment is being unfairly targeted.

Speaking to People's Post on Monday, Hansen said she would appeal any decision to suspend her licence. "No one has been proved guilty of anything yet. For all anyone knows I might be perfectly innocent, and yet they are prepared to take away my livelihood without waiting for a verdict. And as far as the drug charges go, the people concerned were only caught with the pipes, not the actual drugs."

Hansen said she and her staff had no other source of income and would be "screwed" if the club was shut down. "The bank has found out about these allegations and has already cancelled my bond. My name is really being dragged through the mud."

But it is unlikely that many councillors would have any sympathy for her, or other adult entertainment owners' predicament.

Owen Kinahan, a councillor in the Claremont, Rondebosch and Constantia areas, said he would welcome a decision in favour of suspension of Hansen's licence. "It's the first time I've heard of this being tried, but if it gives our communities relief, we're prepared to try anything."

Councillor Cedric Thomas for Woodstock, Observatory and Salt River also backed the move. "The community is almost always opposed to this kind of thing and we must also make a contribution to bring an end to this kind of antisocial immoral behaviour," said Thomas.

Should Hansen's licence be suspended, she would have 21 days to appeal to the city council or to the premier to have the decision overturned. She is to make a first appearance in court on 25 January.

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