SA Liquor Association Gives Partial Thumbs Up to Alcohol Sales Under New Covid Restrictions
- The SA Liquor Brand Owners Association has welcomed the decision by President Cyril Ramaphosa not to enforce a total ban on alcohol sales
- Alcohol sales are permitted between 10am and 6pm from Monday to Thursday under the new coronavirus restrictions
- Despite this, the association is not completely satisfied and are calling for the sale of alcohol to include weekends
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The SA Liquor Brand Owners Association (SALBA) has welcomed the decision by President Cyril Ramaphosa not to enforce a total shutdown on alcohol sales.
This comes after the president announced last night that South Africa would be moving to Alert Level 3 amid a surge in the number of positive coronavirus cases. The country is currently experiencing the third wave of infections.
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The sale of alcohol is only allowed between 10am and 6pm from Monday to Thursday under the new restrictions. The restrictions further allow for onsite consumption of alcohol at restaurants but only until 9pm, while the hours of the curfew are between 10pm and 4am.
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SALBA Chairman Sibani Mngadi, however, said there is an urgent need for government to explain why the sale of alcohol is not permitted on weekends, according to SABC News.
He explained: “There’s an urgent need for government to explain the rationale behind restricting retail alcohol sales over the weekend.
"We do believe that this approach undermines the interest of hardworking people who have no opportunity to purchase during the working days and it is the arbitrary decision that really does not serve the interest of the lower-income group."
SA coronavirus restrictions
In his address to the nation, the president added that there have to be drastic changes in the behaviour of South Africans in the face of the challenges faced due to Covid-19.
"The cabinet has, therefore, decided to move the country to Alert Level 3 ... all gatherings will be limited to a maximum of 50 people and 100 people outdoors," Ramaphosa said in his address.
"Where the venue is too small to accommodate all these numbers with appropriate social distancing, then no more than 50 per cent of the capacity of the venue may be used," he added.
"We know that as difficult as it has been for the last 15 months, we have started to recover and rebuild. Though it has encountered several setbacks, our mass vaccination programme is gaining momentum and we are finally on the path of controlling the disease."
EFF unimpressed by Alert Level 3
The EFF expressed disdain relating to the limit on gatherings, primarily against the limit of political gatherings as the local government elections are expected to commence in October 2021.
The limitations may impact the political campaign of the EFF in a negative way. In spite of lockdown, the EFF confirmed that they will not halt their political activity on route to the elections, according to The South African.
Briefly News reported that Ramaphosa spoke about the new limitations on Tuesday, 15 June, which included restricting the number of people at gatherings to 50 people indoors and 100 people outdoors.
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Source: Briefly News
