President Cyril Ramaphosa has rejected the bid by the liquor industry to lift the total ban on the sale of alcohol.
As the government relaxes some lockdown regulations gradually to breathe life into the country’s ailing economy, the national command council has stood firm against the sale of alcohol.
The Gauteng Liquor Forum, which claims to represent 20 000 liquor businesses, had agreed to give Ramaphosa until today to respond to their demands that they be allowed to trade under restricted conditions. The forum charged that the lockdown was crippling their industry, threatening they would go to the Constitutional Court if they don’t get their way.
In a letter from the State Attorney to the forum’s lawyer, Eric Mabuza, Ramaphosa said that during discussions this week it was agreed that the sale of alcohol was not an essential service.
“The sale and consumption of alcohol has proven links to an increase in violent crime, motor vehicle accidents, medical emergencies and results in full emergency rooms and hospitals,” the letter reads.
“In the face of a pandemic such as COVID-19, the experience of the rest of the world has shown us that hospitals need to be prepared to receive and treat a vast numbers of COVID-19 patients and to quarantine them from non-infected patients,” the letter added.
The president also said the impact of the lockdown was not only felt by the liquor industries but other industries that have been forced to close down.
“This is a regrettable, but inevitable, consequence of the lockdown,” he said.
