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Liquor dealer training has called for off-site liquor sales
- South Africa has had a number of bans on the sale of alcohol, which have been imposed and lifted since the start of the shutdown in March last year.
- Lucky Ntimane, coordinator of the alcoholic beverage merchant training, said that more than 165,000 people have lost their jobs as a result of the first two bans.
- The latest ban could result in the closure of most of the 34,500 taverns and shebeens represented by the Liquor Traders Formation.
South Africa’s tavern owners and shebeen have urged the government to restore liquor sales off-site as of January 16, saying the livelihoods of 100,000 people are at stake.
The country has had a number of bans on the sale of alcohol, which have been imposed and lifted since the start of the shutdown in March last year, with the latest ban being imposed in December. The government had instituted bans and restrictions on the sale of alcohol to ensure that hospital beds are available to Covid-19 patients and are not riddled with cases of liquor-related trauma stemming from car accidents and violence.
The country has been experiencing a second wave of the pandemic, reporting 12,601 new cases on Monday, raising the number of infections to more than a million since the pandemic began.
On Tuesday, Lucky Ntimane, coordinator of the Liquor Dealer Training, said that more than 165,000 people lost their jobs as a result of the first two bans. The training represents South African tavern owners and the industry employs 250,000 people.
“Of the 284 days that the country has been in some blockade measure, the liquor merchants have not been able to trade liquor for [more than]100 days, without any government support to cushion this blow, “Ntimane said in a statement.
He added that the ban could result in the closure of most of the 34,500 taverns and shebeens the group represents. Taverns and shebeens are part of the country’s alcohol value chain employing one million people nationwide. To ensure the protection of jobs, the training has called for off-site alcohol sales with limited days and hours, starting January 16, and a moratorium on license renewals and rate increases for one year, as well as a financial package of R20,000 for liquor. traders to cover their losses.
Ntimane said that President Cyril Ramaphosa had promised to review the ban on January 15 and that the industry expects to open on January 16. The coordinator also urged the alcoholic beverage control agencies to focus on the illicit and illegal trade in alcohol.
“The current lockdown environment we find ourselves in encourages alcohol smuggling networks to fill the void created by unmet consumer demand for alcoholic products,” Ntimane said.
The Presidency had not responded to requests for comment at the time of publication.
