On Sunday, Ramaphosa said the abuse of alcohol had led to the admission of higher numbers of people at clinics and hospitals.
While some political parties agreed with his decision, the liquor industry has lamented the impact on employment. The National Liquor Traders Council, South African Liquor Brand owners Association, the Beer Association of South Africa, Vinpro, the Liquor Traders Association of South Africa and manufacturers said they were disappointed.
“The liquor industry has a wide and deep value chain employing almost 1million people The hardest hit will be the significant number of smaller retailers and taverners The ban will have other unintended consequences which includes further job losses. During the nine-week lockdown, the alcohol industry lost R18 billion in revenue and R3.4 billion in excise tax.”
They said the initial suspension of alcohol sales restricted the legal trade and fuelled the illegal market's growth. “It also creates security concerns for liquor outlets. The illicit market operates mostly uncontrolled. For this restriction to be viable, it must be accompanied by considerably increased law enforcement.”DA leader John Steenhuisen said the ban and a night-time curfew was "simply to distract from the real issue: the utter failure to build treatment and testing capacity.
Business Business Latest News, Business Business Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Alcohol ban will lead to ‘disaster’ for liquor industry and lift job lossesPresident Cyril Ramaphosa announced a ban on alcohol sales on Sunday citing a need to reduce pressure on SA’s hospitals
Source: BDliveSA - 🏆 12. / 63 Read more »
Alcohol ban will lead to ‘disaster’ for liquor industry and lift job lossesPresident Cyril Ramaphosa announced a ban on alcohol sales on Sunday citing a need to reduce pressure on SA’s hospitals
Source: BDliveSA - 🏆 12. / 63 Read more »
Liquor bosses see disaster for industry and more job losses due to banIndustry warns of billions in lost tax revenue as illicit sales become further entrenched
Source: BDliveSA - 🏆 12. / 63 Read more »