The South African president Cyril Ramaphosa announced this Friday the maintenance, despite many criticisms, of the ban on the sale of alcohol which accompanies the total confinement of the country because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Read also: The dangerous temptation of alcohol to fight boredom or anxiety
At the same time that he asked his 57 million compatriots to stay at the end of March, Cyril Ramaphosa banned until April 30 at least all activities deemed "non-essential", including the sale of alcohol and cigarettes . His Minister of Police, Bheki Cele, turned into a champion of prohibition and ordered his officers to hunt down the perpetrators relentlessly. With supporting statistics, Bheki Cele said that the ban had led to a sharp drop in crime in the country since the start of the containment. He even publicly considered keeping it in the future.
This policy is causing great dissatisfaction among consumers, as well as companies in the sector. An association of owners of bars and refreshment bars in the province of Gauteng - that of Johannesburg and the capital Pretoria - formally asked the head of state to lift the measure.
"An obstacle to the fight against the coronavirus"
"The ban on the sale of alcohol is confirmed," said the head of state on Friday evening in a statement. “As such, alcohol cannot be considered an essential good. It is even an obstacle to the fight against the coronavirus. ”
In support of his demonstration, Cyril Ramaphosa also recalled the "proven links" between alcohol and crime, road accidents and other medical emergencies. Before reminding the industry that it benefited, like other sectors of the economy, from the government's financial support plan. South Africa is the country of South Saharan Africa most affected by Covid-19, with 2,783 confirmed cases, 50 of which were fatal.