Beer Association pleads with Ramaphosa not to extend booze ban

Government instituted a ban on the sale of alcohol in December when the country moved back to lockdown level 3.

This formed part of a series of measures to try and curb the spread of coronavirus.

Craft Brewers Association chairperson Wendy Pienaar says most small business owners are finding themselves on the brink of closure.

“BASA remains aware of the severity of the crisis we face as a nation as we battle Covid-19, and understands the great difficulties faced by both government and citizens as the virus spreads. And while we support all efforts to curb the infection rate, we need to work together to ensure that we are able to save both lives and livelihoods in this fight.”

Listen to Wendy Pienaar below:

She says the latest ban on alcohol sales has had a devastating impact on the craft brewing industry.

“BASA has been inundated with calls from members who have been left depleted of their savings and reserves, and are now in desperate need of financial relief if they are to survive.

“The third ban is devastating to craft brewers, who are small businesses owners who work within small margins, always putting the welfare of their staff before their own. It is now no longer a question of keeping businesses open – it has become a question of whether business owners, their employees and families will have any food to eat this month.

“To make things worse, these craft brewers are the very same people who stepped up during the hard lockdown last year by producing soup and stew in their brewhouses from donated vegetables to feed over two million hungry people, while also manufacturing sanitiser to help fight Covid-19. It is heartbreaking to receive calls from brewers who are now in danger of losing everything. We have to stand together to find alternative solutions to the outright ban on the sale of alcohol,” says Pienaar.

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