The Liquor Brandowners Association (SALBA) has expressed concern over the illegal production of alcohol around KwaZulu-Natal. According to the association three people have been arrested across the province for illegal manufacturing and selling of counterfeit alcohol.
SALBA spokesperson, Sibani Mngadi, says they are concerned for the health of the public as it is not known how the alcohol is being produced.
“Generally the cases are similar, they tend to find cases of pure alcohol which is something like 96% and bottles of branded products were also found which then would have been retailed with whatever processing that goes through and be sold in the broader area in KwaZulu-Natal. This is very concerning although the cases are the same they differ in terms of scale, our concern is the risk this poses in the health of the general public.”
Police in KwaZulu-Natal made a breakthrough on Friday, busting a ring of illicit alcohol producers.
In the video below, SALBA says the industry is concerned about the risk to public health posed by the sale of counterfeit liquor.
Lifting of ban on alcohol sales during lockdown in the spotlight:
There is a court case coming up which seeks to compel President Cyril Ramaphosa to allow the selling of alcohol in the country during the lockdown. Some sectors of society, including business owners, intend to approach the courts to try and force government to relax existing lockdown regulations, particularly in relation to liquor trading.
Below is the alcohol ban trading proposal:
The SA liquor industry’s has asked Ramaphosa to lift then ban on alcohol.
Under their proposal, bottle stores and taverns should:
◇ operate like takeaways
◇ Open 9AM -6PM on weekdays
◇ Open 9am- 4PM on Saturdays
◇ Close on Sundays and public holidays. pic.twitter.com/e58yYISs8P— Entrepreneur Zone (@SayEntrepreneur) April 10, 2020
On Sunday, the chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Health Dr. Sibongiseni Dhlomo called on President Ramaphosa to ignore calls from the Liquor Forum to sell alcohol during the lockdown.
The EFF has also rejected the calls to uplift the ban.
EFF Rejects The Call for the Lift of the Alcohol Ban During The National Lockdown to Combat COVID-19 pic.twitter.com/GDK3lxDy93
— Economic Freedom Fighters (@EFFSouthAfrica) April 11, 2020
