The National Liquor Traders’ Council says they will continue to strictly monitor alcohol trading facilities on the ground, ensuring that COVID-19 regulations are being adhered to.
This follows the partial lifting of the ban on the sale and transportation of alcohol this week.
President @CyrilRamaphosa: Restrictions on the sale of alcohol will be eased. The sale of alcohol by licensed premises for off-site consumption will be permitted from Mondays to Thursdays, from 10am to 6pm. pic.twitter.com/Ln2xBTctlD
— Presidency | South Africa ?? (@PresidencyZA) February 1, 2021
Spokesperson Lucky Ntimane says while he’s pleased the ban is now lifted, there needs to be more certainty from government when it comes to issues relating to the liquor trading industry.
“We welcome the lifting of the ban and we hope this is the last time that the alcohol industry and the tavern sector are subjected to humiliating bans without due regards to livelihoods that are dependent on the sector. It is also our wish that certainty be brought into the sector, where constructive engagement with government becomes the order of the day, where we are able to find middle ground, where we ensure that we continue to support the lives and livelihood of our people as we continue to trade in alcohol,” adds Ntimane.
In the audio below, Ntimane also spoke of illegal alcohol traders and urged the public against supporting them:
Long time to recover from alcohol ban
Meanwhile, Ntimane says the liquor industry will take a long time to recover its losses.
“We haven’t been operating for almost 18 weeks since lockdown started, but in the last lockdown, we haven’t operated for almost 35 days. It’s going to be very difficult for us. Our main worry is that the 260 000 jobs that are linked to the tavern sector will not be fully absorbed back into the fold,” adds Ntimane.
Wine industry body, Vinpro, on the other hand, says while it welcomes the partial lifting of the alcohol ban, it is still going ahead with its court case to force the government to make the industry its priority.
The matter is set to be heard in the High Court in Cape Town on Friday.
In a statement, Vinpro says it is concerned about the long-term sustainability of the wine industry due to the impact of repeated alcohol bans.
It says businesses have not been able to earn any income from local wine sales for 20 weeks since March 2020, leading to overall losses of R8 billion in direct sales.
The industry employs 27 000 people.
