BITTERSWEET GUSH AS ‘GREAT PONDS’ OF LIQUOR REOPEN
FRANCISTOWN: To some, the title of late Nigerian author Amadi Elechi’s novel, ‘The
Great Ponds’, literally sums up the mood of liquor drinkers since the controlled selling of alcohol at some outlets kicked-off on Wednesday.
Similarly, the name of Miranda BeverlyWhittemore’s novel, ‘Bittersweet’, describes the mood of some liquor traders. It is no surprise that the titles also in part form the backdrop of various studies that have in the past classified Botswana as one amongst the top 10 alcohol drinking countries in Africa.
One may not be off the mark to suggest that celebrations that accompany government’s decision to lift the ban on the sale of booze last week in the country amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic were to be expected.
This is almost two months after an embargo on the sale of alcohol was put into effect. In the same vein, past research has shown that the consumption of alcohol in Botswana has its fair share of social and health problems. Hence the decision to lift the sale of alcohol is a bitter pill to swallow for some sections of society that are concerned government’s efforts to flatten the curve of the spread of coronavirus in Botswana will be reversed by the lifted ban on liquor sale.
The views of these sceptics are, however, not without foundation.
In 2008, during the presidency of Ian Khama, government introduced new liquor regulations that amongst others controlled the sale of alcohol from bars, bottle stores, liquor depots, discotheque/night clubs and homes. The regulations also recognised sekhokho, khadi, setopoti, mokuru, nkubi, and Ila as legal, while the rest were declared as illicit brews.
Subsequent to the introduction of 2008 liquor regulations, the government through the Ministry of Health and Wellness (MoHW) and its development partners, the United Nations Development Programme Botswana and the World Health Organisation, carried out a desk review research of the Botswana
National Alcohol Policy, which was submitted to the MoHW in September 2014.
The study was carried out to determine vital linkages between alcohol abuse and HIV/ AIDS, gender-based violence and non-communicable diseases.
In Botswana, harmful alcohol consumption has been associated with several non-communicable diseases, high rates of HIV infections, high incidences of gender-based violence, especially intimate partner violence. This includes increased road traffic fatalities as well as other severe socio-economic consequences for drinkers, their households and wider communities, according to the research. This week a snap survey carried out by The Monitor found that the reopening of liquor outlets was indeed a bittersweet moment.
While Keneilwe ‘Lil’ Smith of Itekeng (Area W) location was happy with government’s decision to reopen liquor outlets following a hiatus, the opposite was true for some bar owners who rent premises.
Smith, who went to Trident Wholesalers to buy two cases of 340ml of Black Label, said the reopening of liquor outlets was a step in the right direction.
He was elated that the reopening of alcohol trade would have a positive effect on the whole value chain.
He stated that after government temporarily banned the sale of alcohol in the country, some liquor consumers resorted to drinking illicit homemade brews that are harmful to people’s health.
Some of the illicit alcoholic beverages, Smith explained, were smuggled from neighbouring countries and sold at exorbitant prices.
“The government did not benefit anything from the sale of alcoholic beverages, which were smuggled from Zimbabwe. Now the government will get tax from the sale of liquor in the normal market, which will be put to good use in various ways,” Smith reasoned. On the other hand, a popular civic figure in Francistown welcomed the reopening of liquor stores with a pinch of salt.
He decried the decision by the State to lift the ban of alcohol sales while still maintaining the same opening and closing times between bars and wholesalers was ill-advised as it disadvantaged the former.
“I am renting a bar and my landlord expects me to pay her rent in full as per our contract. However, that will not be possible because of the limited trading hours that were recently introduced by the Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, Peggy Serame,” he said worriedly after this publication chanced upon him at Trident.
He added that it would be foolhardy to expect bar owners who have weak financial muscle to compete with wholesalers such as Trident and Metsef with a strong financial muscle.
In the chain of production, wholesalers benefit from buying in bulk from manufacturers while bar operators purchase their goods from wholesalers.
He added that although he was buying stock in anticipation that his landlord would listen and understand his plea to at least reduce rent, he mentioned that he will have no option but close shop if he does not enter into a gentleman’s agreement with his landlord.
“Besides rent, I also have other overheads that I should pay like electricity, water and wages of my employees. I will not be able to pay these expenses under the current trading conditions. You also understand that I am in business to make profit and not for fun. So it is certain that I will close if the trading environment is not conducive for making profit,” he said.