Ban on alcohol is right call under the circumstances
THE ANGRY responses to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement that the sale of alcohol would once again be suspended, tells us something about the alcohol abuse problem we have in South Africa.
According to the World Health Organization, South Africa’s population of drinkers are at number 5 when it comes to the consumption of alcohol – at an average of 28.9 litres each annually. In terms of population size, South Africa comes in at 52nd, with an average consumption of 9.3 litres each annually.
The government had been under immense pressure to lift the ban on the sale of alcohol which came into effect with South Africa’s initial Covid-19 lockdown on March 27.
Like many industries affected by the Covid-19 lockdown, liquor industry players cited the loss of jobs and contraction of the economy as alcohol’s value chain evaporated overnight.
But for government, the loss of jobs cannot be compared to the real-life nightmare that the sale of alcohol, since June 1, has unleashed on South Africa’s trauma units which are battling to accommodate the most serious Covid-19 infections.
But even before Covid-19, we have known that alcohol consumption, particularly binge-drinking on weekends, was one of the major drivers of violent crime.
For too long, our consumption of alcohol has been trivialised, and while the government has for a long time known about the impact of alcohol and how it correlates to violence, there’s been no political will to implement the sort of wide-ranging measures which would save lives.
In a city like Cape Town, if you’re a young man or woman living on the Cape Flats, you are highly likely to be murdered on a weekend, and either you or your attacker would have consumed alcohol.
The images marketed by the industry of young, hip, upwardly mobile consumers of alcohol is far from the reality which greets ambulance staff and police officers every weekend.
For this reason, we agree with the National Command Council that the sale of alcohol should be suspended until we bring down the number of Covid-19 hospitalisations.
For many, it might seem draconian, but South Africa simply does not have the luxury to fret and navel-gaze at such a crucial time in our history.