BOOZE BAN: ABOUT 200 BEVERAGES WORKERS FACE JOB LOSSES

SITEKI – About 200 Eswatini Beverages employees are in a precarious situation of losing their jobs due to the continued suspension of alcohol sales and distribution by government.

Government has extended the partial lockdown by another two weeks. Eswatini Beverages Head of Legal and Corporate Affairs Mpumelelo Makhubu said the announced two-week ban on alcohol sales and distribution had exacerbated the damage to the company, considering the seven-month ban accumulated last year. Makhubu said the pressure to protect jobs of employees and the livelihoods of over 15 000 people in the company’s value chain was now almost unbearable.

Distribution

He said even though his company supported the enforced government’s measures, but it did not believe that the total ban on alcohol sales and distribution was the optimal solution to effectively manage the delicate balance between lives and livelihoods.
“As a business, we understand and appreciate the precarious position that our government has to navigate in an attempt to safeguard the lives and livelihoods of our people. While we support measures that curb the spread of the pandemic, we do not believe that the total ban on alcohol is the optimal solution to effectively manage the delicate balance between lives and livelihoods,” he said.

He further mentioned that the continued alcohol ban promoted criminal smuggling syndicates (black market). “We know that there are other tried and tested solutions that ensure that the alcohol ban does not adversely hurt the economy, put a further burden on the health system through the consumption of illicit alcohol, and promote criminal smuggling syndicates, which become a gateway to other illegal activities. The announced two weeks of lockdown extension further exacerbates the damage to the business considering the seven-month ban in 2020,” he emphasised. Makhubu said the company had already lost two months of business since the year began. When asked to quantify the loss incurred by his company, Makhubu said that information could not be shared with the public.

“It does not help that we are now the only country in Africa with total restrictions on the sale of alcohol, and the conversations with the owners of the businesses are increasingly becoming more difficult. The unpredictable manner in which the lockdowns are announced makes it difficult and costly to plan and do business with some level of certainty.That said, we will take necessary measures to ensure the long-term sustainability of the business and continue engagements with government, particularly on the way forward,” he said. Meanwhile, Eswatini National Liquor Traders Association Secretary General Thamsanqa Hlatshwayo said government should review its stance on the matter. Hlatshwayo said the continued ban on alcohol sales had promoted the black market.

Pleaded

He pleaded with government to act on the matter as more job losses would be incurred and poverty and criminal activities would increase. “I engaged Eswatini Beverages and they mentioned that they had stock, but due to the ban, their business was not doing well. The ban also promotes the smuggling of alcohol as our neighbours have opened the sale of alcohol. We have that challenge as businesses in this sector as we are the most affected. Government has to make a decision because the economy is suffering and more people are subjected to poverty with the rise in job losses. If the company closes shop, that will mean an increase in prices as we have to source the product outside the country,” he said.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: