Alcohol ban has cost 118,000 jobs, says industry with appeal to open during level 3 lockdown
Legal alcohol industry key to tackling illicit economy and more efficient than investing in enforcement, says group that includes world’s top beer companies.
The alcohol industry, which supports one-million jobs and contributes 3% to SA’s GDP, says it cannot sustain the ban on its ability to trade anymore and that large-scale retrenchments will become inevitable.
“With no/minimal revenue for eight weeks and no certainty of the future, the industry cannot sustain the ban any further and job cuts are a harsh reality,” the liquor industry said in a statement late on Friday. “We hope the gravity of the current situation is taken into serious consideration by decision makers, as the livelihoods of many people rest in their hands.”