Alcohol industry welcomes a call to review the ‘booze ban’

The alcohol industry has welcomed the call by the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) for government to start preparing to lift the ban on the formal sale of alcohol.
According to the alcohol industry, the ban should be lifted because there is no immediate and severe pressure on hospital beds set aside for the treatment of Covid-19 patients.
The call was made by SAMRC president Dr Glenda Gray and Professor Charles Parry (director of the Alcohol, Tobacco & Other Drugs Research Unit of the SAMRC) during an interview with Michael Avery of Business Day TV on Friday.
Dr Gray and Prof Parry said that the anticipated excessive pressure on hospital beds as a result of a surge in Covid-19 infections was not materialising. Prof Parry was asked if the decision to ban alcohol sales to free up hospital beds was ill-advised – given the impact that the ban has on jobs and excise tax collection… “We now need to start looking at planning to lift the temporary ban on alcohol sales. Particularly if you say that, around the country, there is not so much pressure on hospital beds,” he answered, further stating the need to also consider staff capacity needed to manage Covid-19 patients.

Also read: Close to 35,000 tavern owners affected by alcohol ban

Dr Gray, who is also a member of the Ministerial Advisory Council advising the Health Minister on Covid-19 response, said, “My recommendation to government is to be nimble… We have achieved what we needed by having a curfew and prohibition on alcohol. Now we need to address other issues. We have saved lives; now we need to look at livelihoods.”
The alcohol industry stated that the prohibition of alcohol sales is having a devastating effect on people’s livelihoods, with more than 100,000 of the almost one million jobs supported by the alcohol industry value chain having been lost in the first phase of the ban in lockdown level 5 and 4.
“19 days since that economically devastating decision to ban alcohol with immediate effect, the SAMRC is advising government differently. If the government is to be consistent in its approach to the ban, it needs to urgently open talks for the orderly re-opening of the alcohol trade to prevent further losses of jobs and revenue for both the State and business,” said Sibani Mngadi, spokesperson for the alcohol industry.
Mngadi further cited that more than R19 billion in revenue and R3.4 billion in excise tax to government was lost during the first phase of the ban of alcohol sales. Furthermore, the industry has requested the Ministry of Finance to defer the payment of a further R5 billion currently due to SA Revenue Services until the ban on alcohol sales has been lifted.

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