‘COVID-19 cases have dropped, lift the alcohol ban’ – liquor industry

The South African Liquor Brandowners Association (SALBA) has reiterated its call for government to lift the alcohol ban, but has this time cited evidence which could allay concerns that such a move would be counterproductive in battling COVID-19.

SALBA has referenced research the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD)’s Daily Hospital Surveillance Report, which the number of active COVID-19 cases across the country has dropped over the last two weeks.

“The South African Liquor Brandowners Association said this is yet another reason why the Government should lift the prohibition on alcohol,” the groups said.

SALBA: Govt must reverse alcohol ban, save jobs

SALBA’s Chairperson Sibani Mngadi said the drop in infections was good news for the country and provides Government with an opportunity to urgently reverse its decision to continue with the alcohol ban.

“Available data does not back Government’s argument that the current prohibition of sale of alcohol is being maintained to preserve the maximum capacity in the health system to handle a surge in COVID-19 admissions,” said Mngadi.

Mngadi added that it was now time for the Government to roll back the prohibition to limit further losses of jobs and revenue for the sector.

“With the first two bans, alcohol excise tax contribution to government declined by more than 28% from R47 billion in 2019/20 to R34 billion in 2020/21. This R13 billion loss in alcohol tax revenue could have easily compensated for the investment needed in procurement of vaccines and other measures needed to curb the impact of COVID-19 on our society,” said Mngadi.

Under Level 3 of the lockdown regulations, the sale and on-site consumption of alcohol is strictly prohibited. While the alcohol ban has been warmly welcomed by the healthcare sector, particularly as the country experiences a second wave of COVID-19 infections, the sector itself is unhappy.

The data does reaffirm Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize’s sentiments that the alcohol ban has been indeed paying off.

“We are not sitting here saying people must never drink alcohol. We are saying the suspension of alcohol has had the desired effect of reducing pressure on health workers, to the extent that they are now able to attend to a surge of unpredictable numbers. If we’re still facing the surge, we’d like to see that our focus goes to unavoidable problems such as the infection, rather than to the avoidable situations that alcohol brings,” he said.