While the Beer Association of South Africa warns that a 14-day alcohol sales ban would be the “death knell for jobs”, agripreneurs are scrambling to save what is left of their businesses.
Pimville Gin co-founder Yongama Skweyiya says a recently negotiated trade deal has now been put on hold.
This, after President Cyril Ramaphosa last night announced that the country would be placed on an adjusted level four lockdown to try and curb further spread of Covid-19. Besides the alcohol sales ban, public gatherings and schools are also outlawed for two weeks.
Skweyiya tells Food For Mzansi that his company has already been battling to survive following government’s earlier coronavirus-induced booze sales bans. The most recent ban could be the final nail in the coffin.
The agripreneur says he foresaw Ramaphosa’s announcement. Yet, it remains a great blow to Pimville Gin’s two alcohol units. “We have two alcohol centres, one where we produce alcohol and where import craft spirits,” he explains.
Skweyiya’s once budding enterprise is struggling. “Every time we start having negotiations on deals, there’s a lockdown that comes into play which means you’re not earning anything.”
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‘Will 14 days really be just 2 weeks?’
Meanwhile, a deal with a company in the Cayman Islands has been put on hold until further notice. “The first lockdown, they promised us 21 days, but it ended up being well over 90 days of not being able to trade.”
Skweyiya says, “If there’s a true bounce back [from the Covid-19 pandemic] it will only be in 2024, to be honest. The first lockdown was the hardest because we went from making money to not making money, to actually losing as a business.”
He advises other agripreneurs to simply weather the storm.
“For any organisation, it’s literally been about resource conservation [up until now]; making the money you have last as long as possible because you probably won’t be able to sell in future.”
He echoes the sentiment of other liquor producers who do not believe the alcohol sales ban is justified. “Society is at fault. Government is only responding to what is happening. But as much as I am angry that they are not adhering to the rules, it’s still the same community that I need to serve when we are open.”
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‘People are willing to die’
Meanwhile, local wine expert and sommelier, Brian Mahanke tells Food Food For Mzansi that the 14-day alcohol sales ban was too long considering the existing backlog faced by businesses.
“The ban affects me directly because 98% of my clients are in Gauteng. If I can’t transport anything what is going to happen to my business?”
Mahanke is currently holding on to orders that clients in Gauteng were expecting. “I have orders that were made last week, and I’m supposed to action them this week. But now, none of them will go and it will obviously affect me financially.”
At the same time, he believes the severe restrictions were necessary to curb the spread of the virus.
“Seeing how people are behaving, I think it was necessary. Everybody is telling me about fatigue and that they have had enough of this thing [Covid-19]. To me it feels people are willing to die,” Mahenke says.
The Beer Association of South Africa (BASA) says the only way to prevent the number of rising infections is to implement a mass vaccination programme, rather than enforce an alcohol sales ban. They believe that previously, this proved to have disastrous consequences for small businesses and their staff.
“There is a vaccine for Covid-19, but not for poverty, as others have pointed out. Large gatherings, a lack of social distance, and a failure to use masks are directly responsible for the spike in infections – not alcohol,” says BASA in a media release.
The South African Liquor Brandowners’ Association (SALBA) reiterates that South Africans will not cease drinking alcohol as a result of the ban.
Instead, it will pose new risks such as irresponsible and illegal alcohol consumption, increased health risks, as well as disruption to the alcohol supply chain industry. SALBA believes the illicit trade of alcohol will once again flourish as people try to get their hands on alcohol.
“The declaration made by President Cyril Ramaphosa will only fuel the rise of the illegal alcohol trade, which has been shown to grow enormously when a total ban is implemented,” states SALBA.
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