Another court challenge to booze ban
Vinpro, which represents more than 2 500 South African wine producers, sellers and industry stakeholders, is the latest organisation to take government to court hoping to have the liquor ban overturned.
South African Breweries (SAB), which is owned by JSE-listed global brewing giant AB InBev, has also taken legal action.
Just last week, the Beer Association of SA, Vinpro and the South African Liquor Brandowners Association (Salba) again warned that the latest alcohol ban would result in further job losses, the collapse of smaller players and billions of rands in lost tax revenue for government.
The associations have also asked government for another deferment of excise tax duty on alcohol to mitigate the impact on the sector.
“Vinpro is relieved that the numbers of new infections, active cases and hospital admissions are now dropping fast across the country, but particularly in the Western Cape,” it said in a statement.
“In these circumstances, the liquor ban is simply no longer justified in the Western Cape. Accordingly, to the extent that the situation does not change for the worse, and if the liquor ban is still in force in the Western Cape by 5 February, the Western Cape High Court will be asked to invalidate Minister [Nkosazana] Dlamini-Zuma’s ban in the Western Cape with immediate effect.”
Vinpro pointed out that the wine sector is one of the oldest agricultural industries in the country, supports the livelihoods of 269 000 employees; generates R55 billion in revenue for the economy; and builds a strong brand reputation as a unique asset for the country.
“During the past year our industry has worked tirelessly to be part of the solution when our country found itself in the grip of the deadly Covid-19 pandemic. This included collaborating with government and proactively implementing preventative measures from farm to retail to safeguard the lives and livelihoods of the people working throughout our value chain and the broader community,” it said.
“Despite continuous engagement with government to curb the spread of the virus through the implementation of a risk-adjusted approach to reopening the economy and addressing the social ills of alcohol abuse through a social compact, our proposals were not taken into account when the third ban was introduced on 28 December 2020.”
Vinpro bemoaned the lack of transparency in justifying the continued alcohol ban, noting that government has not given any explanation or clarity on the timeline for a review of the ban.
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