Eateries gorge on anger

MILLION SEATS ON STREETS PROTEST: CHAIRS, TABLES TO BLOCK ROADS

Industry is rallying to get government

‘to take us seriously’ – Restaurant Association of SA.

of SA (Rasa), which is leading the campaign, notified the SA Police Service (Saps) of the planned protest in a letter sent to Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi via its lawyers, Mooney Ford Attorneys, on 15 July.

Tables and chairs will be used to block roads outside restaurants between midday and 2pm tomorrow as part of the peaceful protest to highlight the massive impact of Covid-19 lockdown regulations on the industry.

The sector has pretty much been closed from the start of the hard lockdown in late March up to the end of May. Since June it has been operating at limited capacity, with lockdown restrictions not allowing for on-site consumption of alcohol.

According to Rasa, up to 70% of jobs may already be lost in the industry, totalling 800 000 people.

“Due to the continual disregard for the restaurant industry, my client, its members and various other restaurants, takeaway shops and coffee shops will embark on a nationwide peaceful demonstration,” Ashton Naidoo of Mooney Ford Attorneys said in the letter to Mkhwanazi.

“Each restaurant owner will move tables and chairs from their empty restaurants into the street in front of their establishment in protest at the current regulations and to highlight the plight of the industry.

“We have advised the restaurants that such groups must not exceed 15 people per restaurant and all social distancing protocols will be observed,” he added.

In the letter, Naidoo asked Mkhwanazi to notify police stations across the country about the demonstration, saying Rasa wanted to work with the Saps to ensure the action was carried out in a peaceful and respectful manner.

Rasa chief executive Wendy Alberts said since the campaign was launched on social media last week, the association had received the backing of hundreds of members, as well as tourism and hospitality industry bodies.

“We are presenting a united front on this as a broader industry, for the government to take us more seriously. The industry is rallying together and we believe the protest on Wednesday will be the biggest countrywide protest the restaurant industry has organised,” she said.

“We have also appealed to the taxi industry for support, as well as other sectors affected by restrictions to trade.”

We are presenting a united front on this