Cheers! Liquor groups welcome lifting of weekend booze sales ban
The South African Liquor Brandowners Association (SALBA) has welcomed the easing of Covid-19 restrictions in the country.
SALBA's appealed to the government to work with the industry towards economic recovery.
President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday night brought the coronavirus lockdown to adjusted alert level 1.
This ends a ban on weekend alcohol sales, but liquor cannot be sold after 11pm and during the curfew, which's between midnight and 4am.
"As a country, we are facing record unemployment levels with total employment in South Africa decreasing from 9,652,000 in March 2021 to 9,566,000 in June 2021," says SALBA CEO Kurt Moore.
"We need to curb further economic losses and start to return the economy to some level of normality. The alcohol bans have caused extensive job losses and income cuts within the alcohol value chain.
"Moreover, existing evidence indicated that the poor and those at the lower end of the earnings distribution had been disproportionately affected by the economic backlash of the pandemic, mainly among labourers, warehouse and retail staff."
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