Cape Town - The restaurant and alcohol industries are pleading for the easing of restrictions in a bid to save more businesses from closing as President Cyril Ramaphosa holds meetings today to decide on the length of the alert level 4 restrictions.
The National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) is meeting on Sunday amid speculations on whether Ramaphosa will tighten restrictions as the third wave continues to grip the country.
The DA, IFP and ACDP on Saturday called for the government to speed up the roll-out of the vaccination programme.
Acting Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said the NCCC meeting would be followed by the meeting of the Presidential Coordinating Council and the Cabinet.
The Federated Hospitality Association of South Africa (Fedhasa) and Restaurant Association of South Africa (Rasa) have called on Ramaphosa to ease the restrictions as the sector cannot handle an extension of the current lockdown level.
Rasa released a list of around 360 restaurants that have closed down over the different lockdown levels, which includes some high-profile establishments such as The Kitchen, in Cape Town, which served former US first lady Michelle Obama lunch back in 2013.
Establishments like Mykonos in Camps Bay, Papillon at the Heritage in Knysna, Al’s Place in Rondebosch, The Shop in Three Anchors Bay have closed their doors, citing rising debts and an inability to keep up with rent payments and salaries.
Alan Tavers, owner of Al’s Place in Rondebosch, is closing his doors at the end of July after 11 years operating.
“Restaurants were struggling even when they were open for sit-down service because nobody could reach full capacity, businesses like ours were lucky to see 30% occupancy and we were never geared up for takeaways,” he said.
“Government is not listening to business owners who are going under because of the blanket restrictions imposed on the entire sector due to the behaviour of a few, instead of policing the troublesome establishments.
“For months we have tried to stay afloat by laying off staff, putting people on short-time but it was not sustainable and we have to close because we couldn’t afford the rent anymore. This leaves our employees with no income to support themselves and their families. It is a travesty what this government is doing to restaurants.”
Dalene Joubert, the owner of The Bell and Anchor in Scottburgh, KwaZulu-Natal, said after hanging on for over a year she had no choice but to close down, starting from tomorrow.
“The restaurant business has taken big knocks over the last year and every time you open and reopen it puts a strain on the business because when you reopen, it is like starting from scratch having to buy stock with money you don’t have,” said Joubert.
“A lot of restaurants were given some relief from landlords for rent but eventually once restaurants reopened the owners obviously wanted their money back. We were paying around R126 000 for rent, excluding utilities, salaries and money owed to suppliers. It meant we had to make a turnover of about R300 000 a month to meet those demands.
“After trying to negotiate with my landlord for four months because I was only able to afford R50 000, I just couldn’t do it anymore, the debt kept increasing and I decided to close. This means 32 people are now out of work come Monday, the local suppliers I have been working with are also losing this revenue.”
Rasa’s Wendy Albert accused the government of not caring that the industry was being destroyed.
“The alcohol impact is probably the single biggest issue impacting our restaurants and we cannot tolerate an extension on this restriction,” she said.
“We cannot survive on the small turnover of takeaways while we are paying full expenses, it’s not financially viable and third-party delivery costs exploit our businesses. The landlords and banks have refused to come to the party and rental and loans are the biggest contributors to closures.
“The restaurant industry will no longer tolerate compromise when there is no regard to control the uncontrolled spaces or to lock down the illicit trade while we accumulate extended debts and lose our livelihoods. Restaurants simply cannot survive without alcohol or sit down patrols or diner time sales.”
President of the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Jacques Moolman said: “Almost everyone in business apart perhaps from those selling on the internet and making home deliveries is very much concerned. Sectors like tourism, liquor selling, and restaurants will again take the heaviest blow.
“Government should think long and hard before inflicting more pain on the economy. There must be an acceptable risk beyond destroying the private sector which alone appears to be obeying every possible protocol to prevent their customers from getting or passing on the infection.
“Those in the informal sector have been hit the hardest, so the answer is yes the poor have got poorer. Private small business has taken the brunt of the negative economic consequences.”
Fedhasa’s chairperson Rosemary Anderson said while the industry was not insensitive to the issues around the balancing of lives and livelihoods, the hospitality industry cannot endure being switched on and off to stem the spread of Covid-19.
“Behind the closed restaurant doors and ‘for sale’ signs are thousands of livelihoods that have already been lost and hang in the balance every day restaurants are forced to bear the brunt of lockdown regulations. Beyond this, the hospitality sector supports a deep supply chain that is similarly affected,” she said.
“Unlike most other sectors, the hospitality sector has not been able to operate fully, even when regulations were at level one. This, despite putting in place stringent health and hygiene protocols. There are not many businesses that would be able to support livelihoods and pay their normal bills when they have not managed to operate normally for more than a year through no fault of their own.
“It is a hospitality bloodbath out there, with no support systems to fall back on.”