WATCH: Lockdown times are not working for us, say tavern owners

Tavern owners were yesterday pleading to operate seven days a week due to the constant reduction in turnover while operating five days a week because many of their customers are at work during the week and cannot beat traffic to buy their favourite liquor.

According to National Liquor Traders Council spokesperson Lucky Ntimane, the organisation is asking President Cyril Ramphosa for the Disaster Management Act regulations pertaining to the sale of alcohol for off-site consumption to be removed in order to save jobs and avoid financial losses.

“Customers tend to not spend more than R100 when they visit the tavern during the week,” said Annicky Mika from Sipela’s Place in Soweto.

Mika said she has five staff and she was forced to rotate her staff daily so each of them could work three times a week because she cannot afford to pay each of them for a month’s work.

“We are thankful to be open but it’s not making much of a difference while operating five days a week because our customers are time-bound. As we are approaching the end of the year, tavern owners need to renew their liquor licences and with the low income the tavern makes, I worry how I will do this.

“The lockdown times are not working for us, nor is the curfew,” Mika said.

The Citizen spoke to Bongane Khuzwayo, an employee at LM Liquor in Soweto, who said he was glad to be back at work but still struggled to make ends meet with the new shifts due to the lockdown Level 1 restrictions.

Khuzwayo said he was forced to use his savings to put food on the table for his family because he had no other means of income.

“My kids are deprived from enjoying the luxury of life because we’ve had to readjust our lives to the new normal, which is spending money on needs alone like rent, school fees and food.

“When we close for the weekend, there is still so much stock remaining which has not been sold during the week. This leaves our fridges full and there is no need for delivery of new stock, which is bad because the alcohol expires.”

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