AVERT A JOBS BLOODBATH

Comment

When government banned the sale of liquor two months ago, health officials said the main reason was not necessarily to reduce the number of COVID-19 cases but rather to ease the burden on the health system by reducing alcohol-related cases.

The expectation was that the breather would allow the Ministry of Health time to get its facilities and resources in order to ensure that all other services are provided to the public.

Figures have shown that alcohol was not the main cause of the rapid rise in cases and it is time to review the ban before this sector witnesses a jobs bloodbath.

recovery 

We must commend the Ministry of Health for a good recovery rate of COVID-19 patients while we mourn the loss of those who were not so fortunate to survive it.

The lifting of the ‘booze ban’’ in South Africa has, no doubt, caused the illegal trade to flourish locally. This has not only created a new crime burden for our law enforcement agencies, which are equally wanting in terms of their ability to fully serve the public, but has also increased the health risk as desperate citizens have resorted to imbibing dangerous home-made concoctions. 

The longer the ban therefore, the more lawbreakers and sickly people we are creating with an out-of-control industry, while driving nearly 15 000 people into poverty in the process!

Added to this is loss of business for landlords, who are now unable to receive rent from cash-strapped bottle stores and restaurants. 

economy 

When government realised it could not keep the economy on partial lockdown for longer than it could afford the consequences, it opened up. So at what point does it become meaningless to continue choking a multi-billion Emalangeni industry that is not completely at fault for the current COVID-19 pandemic? 

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