Cape Town - A possible move to a level 2 lockdown ahead of the Easter weekend has taverns and other liquor traders on edge.
Liquor Trader Formations convener Lucky Ntimane said talk of yet another ban by the government was a slap in the face for a sector that has not recovered from the previous three bans.
Ntimane said if such talk was followed by the president announcing yet another alcohol ban, “it would certainly be a confirmation on his part to say he does not care about the livelihoods of taverns and shebeen permit holders, and that their plight was something he could not care less about”.
“The alcohol industry is an engine of growth and recovery for the country, supporting over one million jobs while contributing over 10% tax revenue to the government,” said Ntimane.
SA Liquor Brandowners Association chairperson Sibani Mngadi said the alcohol industry has made recommendations to the government, through the National Economic Development and Labour Council, on alternative measures to deal with the short-term pressure on hospitals during the next surge in Covid-19 and the increased risk of infections over the Easter weekend.
Mngadi said the industry believed that measures to alleviate the impact on the health-care system could be implemented in a less damaging manner that would help to mitigate transmission while still helping to preserve livelihoods.
“In order to ascribe the drop in trauma admissions to the alcohol bans, one also has to control for the influence of all the other imposed regulatory changes, such as the curfew and restrictions on gatherings,” said Mngadi.
He said alcohol restrictions had been imposed at the same time as the curfew, so it was disingenuous to suppose that the decline in trauma cases was due solely to the alcohol ban.
Economist Mike Schussler said alcohol had been banned many times during the lockdown.
“We can say the reason they (government) wanted alcohol to be banned is because hospitals were full and there was no space, but now the hospitals are not that full, and there is no reason to ban alcohol.”
He said it would be detrimental if the country returned to the level 3+ lockdown implemented after Christmas, because it would hurt the restaurant industry, which was already badly hurt.
It is not yet clear when President Cyril Ramaphosa will address the nation. His acting spokesperson, Tyrone Seale, said the Presidency would make the necessary announcements as and when the president was due to address the nation.
DA leader John Steenhuisen said as the country braces for yet another televised address by the president today, with the expectation of a return to some version of a higher lockdown level over Easter, the DA has urged the government to trust science, to apply common sense, and to make use of its own proven localised plan to contain Covid-19 transmission.
Cape Argus