Tavern owners say they cannot afford another ban on liquor sales after the national coronavirus command council imposed a ban on alcohol sales three times last year. Picture: Nigel Sibanda
As the country’s liquor traders opened for business yesterday after suffering losses in alcohol sales during President Cyril Ramaphosa’s first Covid-19 Easter alcohol ban, there was a mixed reaction from industry players, with Kempton Park’s Liquor City bottle store owner Cynthia Nunes claiming the president’s decision was wrong.
In anticipation of the negative impact associated with the abundance of liquor during Easter, Ramaphosa restricted the sale of alcohol for off-site consumption last Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, claiming that liquor fuelled “reckless behaviour”.
“On-site sales at restaurants, shebeens and bars will be allowed, according to licensing conditions, up until 11pm,” said Ramaphosa.
After what she described as “a month-end Easter loss”, Nunes said she was incensed by Ramaphosa’s logic.
“How can you tell me, as a bottle store, which is offsite consumption, applying social distancing, mask-wearing and a sanitiser, you must close when the shebeens are trading without any adherence to health protocols?” asked Nunes.
“Shebeens are on-site and customers don’t wear masks. If you are an off-site consumption business, you deal with clients who buy alcohol and drive off to drink at home.
“Where is the president’s logic? While shebeen are 100% super spreaders, we were asked to close – getting penalised all the time. This is what I get anxious, uptight and sick about because I have staff’s livelihoods that the business is looking after.
“I also lost on shebeen trade customers who come to us to get stock. Due to Easter normally being very busy, we have incurred huge losses in our business.”
Norman Good Fellows Illovo general manager George Babasakalis said: “While our store traditionally closes over the Easter weekend, because of the lockdowns we wanted to trade this year, but could not. Hopefully, going forward there will be some normality.”
Convenor of the Liquor Traders Formation Lucky Ntimane said the impact of the Easter liquor ban was difficult to quantify because “people bought liquor upfront and distributors were allowed to trade with the licensed market – making losses minimal”.
brians@citizen.co.za
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