Article by: Dumisane Dube
The Restaurants Association of South Africa (RASA) said that it was taking government to court over the alcohol sale ban.
In December President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a ban of alcohol sales as part of one of the control measures put in place to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the country.
The president stated that one of the main reason alcohol was banned was because of the increasing number of alcohol related trauma cases that hospitals were meant to deal with during the holidays. He also reiterated the same sentiments in his recent address, stating that the alcohol ban will remain in place until further announcement.
RASA CEO Wendy Alberts says that they would like to negotiate favorable solutions that can save lives and livelihoods. Albert says restaurants are badly affected by the alcohol ban.
“We will see the government in the high court, we have applied for an urgent application and we are supported by a number of major stakeholders. The reality is if you go around to any restaurant at this point you will see it’s a ghost town. We cannot even pay our bills,” explains Alberts.
Alberts added that some restaurants are experiencing financial challenges and are forced to retrench workers.
“We are retrenching staff, if government is not listening or helping us, it will get worse,” she added.
For more updates visit our website and follow our social media pages.
