Pick n Pay CEO’s plea to Ramaphosa
JO H A N N E S B U R G – P i c k n Pay group Chief Executive Officer Pieter Boone has called for President Cyril Ramaphosa to lift the country’s restrictions on the sale of alcohol.
Boone said the easing of restrictions will be especially beneficial to those businesses that have been severely impacted by recent looting and unrest in parts of the country.
“Speaking to franchisees and independent traders in the affected areas, I firmly believe that it is time now for the president to announce a lifting of the ban on liquor sales.
“We have hopefully passed the peak of the COVID- 19 third wave. In normal times, many independent shopkeepers depend on responsible liquor sales to sustain their businesses, and will not survive another prolonged ban.”
He said that the social unrest, looting and resulting damage has dealt these businesses a further body blow – while also releasing a large amount of looted liquor into the illicit market.
“Lifting the ban will be widely welcomed across the country as a positive and responsible step forward in our recovery from the events of last week.
“We are working very hard in anticipation of this step. By the end of next week, we will have repaired and be ready to reopen 28 of our 76 severely damaged liquor stores in KZN and Gauteng.”
Alcohol
South Africa moved to an adjusted Level 4 lockdown at the end of June, with a complete prohibition on the sale of alcohol.
The alcohol industry has faced various forms of restrictions since South Africa introduced its first COVID- 19 restrictions in March 2020, with the government arguing that alcohol consumption leads to increased strain on the country’s hospitals.
Estimates show that the latest fourweek ban has placed 9 206 jobs in the alcohol industry at risk, with a potential loss of R10.2 billion in taxes and excise duties.
This follows t hree previous bans which r esulted i n over 7 400 j obs loses in the beer industry alone, R14.2 billion in lost beer sales revenue, and a loss of more than R7.8 billion in tax and excise duties.
Boone s a i d t h a t t h e P i c k n P a y Group updated stakeholders earlier this week on the damage to Pick n Pay and Boxer stores as a result of the social unrest and looting. In total, 136 food, grocery, clothing and building stores were looted and/ or burnt, along with 76 liquor stores, across KwaZulu- Natal and Gauteng.
Damaged
Two Pick n Pay distribution centres in KZN were also severely damaged.
“The scale and t he nature of t he destruction is heart breaking. But I have been inspired by the progress made by our Pick n Pay and Boxer teams in the noble task of cleaning up, rebuilding, and restocking our stores – getting them ready to welcome customers again.
“The progress since I was here last week i s massive. Every day, our teams are accelerating their progress and shortening their timescales. ”
“Last week I said that South Africa was b l o o d i e d b u t u n b o wed. Thi s week, everywhere I have been, I have seen the strength and determination of people to rise from the crisis and build a better tomorrow,” Boone said.