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Sundays With City Press Prep for the week ahead with City Press insightful coverage of news, politics, business, sport, opinion and entertainment Choose a newsletter Voting Booth On Monday, a student was shot and wounded in Johannesburg during ongoing protests. University students are calling for a national shutdown of all public universities in protest of financial exclusion. However, the SA Police Service (SAPS) said its members had fired shots at the students during Monday s protest in Braamfontein. Last week Mthokozisi Ntumba, who was not part of the protest, was shot dead by police as he left a clinic. Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch has called on the SAPS to exercise maximum restraint and to stop firing at students, even with rubber bullets.
The sadness of a closed liquor store in Edenvale. Picture: Neil McCartney
It took Pieter Davids (53) 28 years to save up to buy his liquor store, CJ Kelders, in Paarl. He bought it six years ago from Pieter de Witt (74), who still came in to help, until alcohol sales were again abruptly banned on 28 December. Last week the depression became too much for De Witt and he shot himself. Davids himself was shot in his leg during store robbery in June last year during a robbery, but even that was less painful than the devastation that he has had to during the past month. “My store lost a lot.
South Africa’s alcohol industry faces ‘economic abyss’ as alcohol ban continues South Africa’s liquor industry warns that many businesses are on the brink of closure as the alcohol ban in the country continues.
With the third ban now having lasted a month with no date set for its end, liquor associations say many members are now near closure.
The country’s alcohol industry – and associated livelihoods across the supply chain - had already suffered from more than 100 days of alcohol bans in 2020.
In a letter sent to President Ramaphosa today, liquor and tavern associations say the tavern sector is at risk of collapsing and over 250,000 jobs are at risk of dissipating if the ban is not lifted by February 1.
Liquor Traders Formation requests urgent meeting with Ramaphosa
The Liquor Traders Formation, which represents township-based liquor traders including taverns, has requested an urgent meeting with President Cyril Ramaphosa to discuss ending the third alcohol sales ban currently in place.
“Our call to the President is to immediately convene a meeting with the alcohol industry with a view to unbanning alcohol and allow normalcy to return to the lives and livelihoods of the liquor traders, their families and the 250,000 workers dependent on the tavern sector can resume. We believe that it is through a collaborative effort with government that innovative ways to support the health sector and our heroes, frontline workers could be found that a balance is struck that will ensure that livelihoods are preserved and lives are saved as move forward as a country, said Lucky Ntimane, convener of the Liquor Traders Formation.
The National Liquor Traders Council and Liquor Traders Association of South Africa have called for financial assistance from government for tavern and shebeen permit holders to the value of R20 000 per outlet.