Beer association calls for lifting of booze ban ahead of Ramaphosa address
The Beer Association of South Africa (BASA) wants President Cyril Ramaphosa to lift the ban on the sale of alcohol when he addresses the nation on Sunday evening.
The industry says the previous four alcohol bans has put nearly 250 000 jobs at risk and cost the country’s GDP some R64.8 billion.
The selling and the distribution of alcohol are completely prohibited under lockdown level 4.
Last week, hundreds of businesses were looted and damaged during the social unrest in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.
BASA CEO Patricia Pillay says the recent looting resulted in R500 million worth of alcohol entering the illicit market.
A total of 232 businesses were also destroyed.
“When it comes to the beer industry, the craft brewing sector has been particularly hard hit by the bans. Since the start of the lockdown, 27 craft breweries have been forced to shut down permanently, with a further 31 on the verge of closing if the current ban is extended.”
Pillay says alcohol associations will submit another application to obtain the data on which government based its decision to extend the ban.
“This is why BASA, along with other members in the industry, will be submitting a Promotion of Administrative Justice Act application to the National Coronavirus Command Council early next week for this data. We simply cannot continue being kept in the dark by government on decisions that threaten the long-term sustainability of our industry and the one million livelihoods it supports.”
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