Johannesburg – Tavern owners are happy that customers may once again be able to drink.
Under level 2 lockdown, alcohol sales are permitted but many businesses will find it hard to reopen, having used up their savings to carry them through the dry spell.
“It has been really difficult because we actually had to let go of a lot of our employees so we had to lose a lot of stock due to the expiry date and also not forgetting the fact that we lost our income.
“We no longer getting income at all. We had to use our own savings to survive in the household,” said Ntswaki Mojela, a tavern owner.
Mojela said a lot of money has been wasted as the goods that could not be sold during lockdown have now expired.
“Recovery is going to take a very long time. We don’t believe that we should sit down and not open because at the end of the day, three months down the line we still won’t have the savings that we need so it’s better we open now.”
Alcohol sales were not permitted in order to ease the pressure on hospitals, allowing medical staff in emergency wards to focus on Covid-19 rather than road accidents and other alcohol-related injuries.
