The Gauteng Liquor Forum has decided not to take President Cyril Ramaphosa to court, for now, after he denied them permission to sell alcohol during the lockdown period.
The forum had written to the President asking him to relax the regulation which prohibits the sale and distribution of alcohol during the lockdown period that has been implemented, by the government, to curb the spread of the coronavirus in South Africa.
They accuse Ramaphosa and his legal team of misunderstanding their request, adding that they also don’t believe that they would qualify for business assistance – this after the President urged traders to approach the various programs that have been set up to assist businesses adversely affected by the lockdown.
‘ALCOHOL REMAINS A CHALLENGE’ – SOUTH AFRICANS ATTEMPT TO CHEAT THE SYSTEM
Earlier in the week police confiscated over R1 million worth of alcohol from a shebeen which was operating illegally during the lockdown in Orlando Soweto.
Gauteng police boss general Elias Mawela said they are aware of the modus operandi used by liquor traders.
“Alcohol remains a challenge of us, we have also observed that some of the licensed liquor outlets have closed their front doors but they sell through the backdoor to some of their known customers. Some people order online and then they come to collect.”
At the same time, with a blanket ban on alcohol sales and supplies fast drying up for those who didn’t anticipate a lockdown extension, many people were turning their kitchens into mini-breweries.
From the traditional sorghum beer to other inventive homebrews like pineapple ale or apple ciders, South Africans are not short of ideas.
But there are warnings of unintended consequences such as alcohol poisoning.
The desperation for alcohol saw retailers run out of core ingredients including malt – the supply of which was halted during the lockdown in accordance with government regulations.
In other news – Babes Wodumo’s English leaves Twitter in tears – Watch
Ever since she came in the spotlight, the Gqom queen’s English has been the talk of social media with many criticizing her while others stood by her saying the language wasn’t her mother’s tongue.
A video of Babes Wodumo has surfaced online and landed her on the Twitter trends list as Mzansi tries to figure out exactly what she is saying. continue reading
Source: EWN
