BOOZE SALES IGNITE ABUSE DEBATE
EXPERTS believe the long queues of people at various liquor outlets this week depicted a nation dependent on alcohol and that the matter needed urgent attention.
Alcohol sales shot through the roof on Monday as liquor stores opened following the lockdown in March.
Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, announced that when the country entered level 3 of the lockdown on June 1, businesses with a liquor licence, including bottle stores and e-commerce sites could sell alcohol between 9am and 5pm from Monday to Thursday and that alcoholic beverages could be consumed only at home.
Nirmala Gopal, professor in criminology and forensic studies at the University of Kwazulu-natal, said the country had an alcohol problem. She said some issues associated with alcohol were based on the previous political landscape, and she believed that the narrative should be rewritten.
Gopal said there were no reliable statistics, but alcohol-related crimes were an indication of the extent of alcohol as a problem in South Africa.
“The writing is on the wall. We have hundreds of thousands of citizens who live for alcohol while neglecting their families’ emotional and social needs. To openly embrace the opening of liquor stores in the way many did, provides some insight into the value placed on alcohol,” she said.
“It is about time the police ministry commissions a national study on the extent and consequences of alcohol abuse. With this data, we could predict where and when alcohol abuse is likely to occur and design appropriate intervention. A real critical question is when will the state recognise and accept that as a country, we do have a problem,” said Gopal.
While liquor sales were high this week, it has not made up for the loss of revenue since the lockdown.
Clyde Vorster, senior manager at Liberty Liquors, Durban Central branch, said the business had continued being busy throughout the week, but Monday had been their busiest day.
Vorster said as the week progressed, foot traffic slightly decreased, but he had expected a surge in sales as people stocked up for the long weekend without being able to purchase alcohol.
“We had good numbers prior to the lockdown, but the sales now cannot make up for the lost revenue while the company was non-operational,” said Vorster.
He disagreed that the queues of people at liquor stores was an indication of a society dependent on alcohol.
“People are buying a lot now, but we need to take into consideration that during the higher lockdown levels, some people might have finished the liquor stock they had,” he said.
“All they are doing now is restocking. The increase in sales does not necessarily mean that there is irresponsible drinking.”
Kirsten Hewett, Woolworths Head of Corporate Communication and PR, said the group’s wine sales had more than doubled this week relative to a normal trading week.
“Monday was by far the largest trading day of the week. Product trends were similar to our normal product category sales, with a notable increase in box wine sales. Given the restricted Monday to Thursday trading times, we expect increased daily sales peaking on a Thursday.”
While Spar Tops could not give specific sales numbers, Mark Robinson, Spar Group Liquor Manager, said sales across their more than 800 stores exceeded expectations during the first week under level 3 of the lockdown.
Sagran Nair of KZN Alcoholics Anonymous said since the implementation of the lockdown there had not been any significant changes either in the increase or decrease in calls for assistance.
“It has been consistent,” he said. “We have become available to offer help where required in the ways of online meetings.”