Alcohol Ban Latest: Taverns working hard to fight the virus

The National Liquor Traders (NLT) has called on the government to work with business and civil society to improve COVID-19 compliance rather than trying to impose top-down alcohol restrictions that have limited effect. 

“We’re very worried about the lack of compliance that we see all around us as people carry on as though there is no pandemic at all,” said NLT convenor Lucky Ntimane. 

“Even with the third wave intensifying and cases of COVID-19 on the rise, it’s clear that the government’s warnings have fallen on deaf ears and there’s no reason to believe that harsher restrictions will make any difference. 

“Instead of talking down to people the way the government has been doing, we need to mobilise the whole of society to defeat this virus,” Ntimane said. 

“We should heed the lessons of the HIV/Aids pandemic which taught us that communication and empowering people to make the right decisions for themselves is far more effective than trying to police their behaviour.” 

Ntimane said the alcohol industry had taken the initiative to ensure maximum compliance with COVID-19 safety protocols, instead of simply leaving it to the government to manage the pandemic. 

“This model can work in other sectors too, if the government works with industry and civil society to get the message across,” Ntimane said. 

The NLT association in collaboration with provincial liquor boards, will be hosting a series of focus groups for taverners on COVID-19 compliance, with the next session taking place at the Rands tavern in Khayelitsha on Wednesday, June 16. 

The protocols are contained in a Western Cape Liquor Board-approved manual that serves as the COVID-19 “bible” for taverners. 

Ntimane said the fact that taverners, who would usually regard one another as competitors, had agreed to close their doors on a public holiday to attend the training showed their commitment to fighting COVID-19.

“We are united in the fight against COVID-19 and we are doing everything possible to keep our customers and staff safe. No one should come to a tavern expecting to misbehave or disregard the safety protocols, we won’t accept it,” said Ntimane. 

The training, sponsored by Distell, will be conducted under the auspices of Western Cape Liquor Traders in co-operation with the Western Cape Liquor Board. 

Similar sessions will be conducted in the major metros in the coming weeks as part of a continuing effort to ensure maximum COVID-19 compliance from outlets that serve alcohol. 

In addition to the training, taverns are inspected for compliance and those that fail to meet the standard after receiving a warning are reported to the authorities.

The liquor industry had also suspended supplies to non-compliant outlets, Ntimane added.