Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane.
Masi Losi/ The Times/Gallo Images/Getty Images
- The latest statement comes ahead of a meeting with an association of liquor traders to discuss the province’s stance.
- Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane made the remarks after criticism, mainly from liquor traders and consumers, for calling for the ban.
- The province’s coronavirus command council reported a spike in serious crime after alcohol trade was permitted under Level 3 on 1 June.
Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane has fired back at people criticising him for petitioning for an alcohol ban in the province until Level 1 of the lockdown.
Mabuyane’s scathing statement comes after criticism this week, mainly from liquor traders and alcohol consumers, for lobbying the national government to reinstate the liquor ban in the Eastern Cape.
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His office confirmed that it has decided to petition national government to restore the alcohol ban in the province until it reaches Level 1 lockdown.
The provincial government raised alarms about a spike in violent criminal cases since alcohol trade was allowed on 1 June – registering more than 3 000 violent criminal cases over seven days, while hospital trauma units were “overwhelmed” by patients with alcohol-related injuries.
Mabuyane said hospitals needed beds to treat Covid-19 patients. He described the virus as the “main enemy”.
“We didn’t just wake up and decide to call for the ban. We are reacting to the repercussions that have been caused by the consumption of liquor. The backlash is coming from people who are irresponsible, selfish and looking after their own interests and own lives,” he said on Wednesday in East London.
He was speaking to the media at Life Healthcare Group’s Beacon Bay hospital in East London during an oversight visit.
“We are interested in liquor because it’s one of the big players in the economy; it creates jobs and we want to protect the industry, but we cannot do that at the expense of lives,” said Mabuyane.
‘We are not the govt of liquor’
A Monday report by the provincial coronavirus command council revealed that between 1 and 7 June, a total of 3 145 cases were reported in the province’s 197 police stations since liquor was permitted.
These included 94 murders, 77 rapes, 24 culpable homicide and 354 assault cases with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
“The statistics that have grown up within this period is putting pressure on our healthcare centers’ trauma units. We want every bed made available for Covid-19, our main enemy,” said Mabuyane on Wednesday, refusing to back down.
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Ending off with the parting shot, he said: “We are a responsible government; we are a government of the people, for the people, by the people. We are not the government of liquor, for liquor, by the liquor,” he said before smiling.
The statement comes ahead of a meeting between him and members of the Eastern Cape Liquor Forum (ECLF), which represents 3 000 liquor traders and taverns, on Wednesday evening.
Mabuyane’s spokesperson Mvusiwekhaya Sicwetsha said the forum called the meeting.
“The meeting will discuss the decision of the provincial coronavirus command council to request national government to reinstate prohibition of trade and distribution of alcohol in the province from now until we get to Alert Level 1.
Call for stricter law enforcement
ECLF’s president, Winston Hector, said the liquor forum remains committed to working with the government to address any “contraventions of the lockdown regulations and ensure responsible trading and consumption of liquor during the Covid-19 outbreak”.
He said they do not agree with the ban, but would rather call for stricter law enforcement measures to ensure that people don’t get on the wrong side of the law.
“As township taverns, we have agreed to a set of guidelines to ensure the responsible trade of liquor and to reduce the spread of Covid-19 in our townships.
“These guidelines set out strict protocols to ensure proper hygiene and social distancing in our outlets, distribution of PPE packs and education materials to taverns and to limit quantity of sale in a single transaction,” said Hector.
Eastern Cape has the second highest infection cases in the country after Western Cape, with 6 760 infections, 138 deaths and 3 514 recoveries.
The Western Cape has 34 819 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 890 deaths.
