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There has been widespread criticism of government’s announcement on Monday night that the alcohol ban and other restrictions remain in place as the country remains under adjusted level 3 regulations.
Opposition parties and interest groups, including the Beer Association of South Africa, railed against the ongoing restrictions on economic activity.
BASA said by keeping these restrictions in place, the government has sounded the death knell for many small craft brewers.
It said that 30% of local breweries were already forced to permanently shut their doors and that 165 000 people have lost their jobs.
Afriforum said; “we have reached a point where arbitrary regulations are being enforced on society and people who contravene them are arrested while the money earmarked for fighting the coronavirus is pilfered through corrupt activities.”
The organisation’s Erns Roets said all the while there is no evidence that these “arbitrary regulations” can an in any way limit the spread of the virus.
Agri SA said the prohibition on alcohol sales would only fuel illegal liquor sales.
Democratic Alliance leader, John Steenhuisen, focussed on the government’s vaccine rollout programme, saying while it continues to tinker with lockdown levels and arbitrary regulations it has failed to do the one thing that can both save lives and the economy.
“Just as it failed to use the initial lockdown last year to augment our country’s healthcare, it has now sat back and watched as other countries snapped up all available vaccines, leaving us floundering at the back of the queue.”
The Freedom Front Plus said the fact that the country remains on lockdown level three in the midst of a sharp rise in new Covid19 cases, proved that the government “overreacted last year when it implemented extremely draconian measures that caused needless damage to the economy.
The Inkatha Freedom Party said leaving the country at adjusted level 3 lockdown was a “sensible and pragmatic step which will keep the economy open.”
But, party spokesperson, Mkhuleko Hlengwa said they were displeased by President Ramaphosa’s failure to address critical, pending events, like the reopening of schools.
“The President should have been clear, bold and concise on the reopening of schools. This kind of planning does not inspire confidence in the Department of Basic Education which seems to continually fall behind,” he said.
