Tebogo Msimanga
Western Cape government wants the ban on sale of alcohol to be lifted. Premier Alan Winde said if the ban continues, more jobs in this industry will be lost and unemployment will rise. He requested a meeting with Health Minister Mkhize and Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Dlamini-Zuma to lift the ban.
In statement released on Friday, Winde said they fully agree that alcohol related harms are a major problem in the province and country.
“Our provincial data points to this. When the domestic sale of alcohol was suspended during the Lockdown, and then again recently, the number of trauma cases dropped immediately. But we cannot view this in isolation of the other consequences of a continued ‘ban’ on the sale of alcohol is causing.”
The provincial government said Wine industry body Vinpro estimated that the initial nine-week ban on local sales, and five-week ban on exports will result in 18 000 jobs lost, and 80 wineries and 350 grape producers closing their businesses over the next year.
