The liquor industry can literally say I told you so 11 times over.
The SA Liquor Brandowners Association (Salba), which represents most of the SA booze industry, said banning the sale of alcohol would fuel illicit trade and criminality. They issued this warning in 11 press releases in 2020 and this year. The latest of these was sent out this month.
Even as the looting broke out on Sunday July 11, the industry sent out an evening release warning that liquor premises are becoming the primary target of looting linked to the political unrest in KwaZulu-Natal.
A total of 76 Pick n Pay and Boxer bottle stores were looted and 62 Spar Tops stores emptied. Brewers SAB and Heineken and SA’s largest alcohol producer Distell had its secured warehouses breached and looted. The industry claims that R500m worth of alcohol was stolen.
No business was spared in the looting. Schools, clothing stores, pharmacies, food retailers and even manufacturers of medicine packaging were ransacked or razed by fire.
What makes the liquor industry different is that now there is a huge quantity of liquor that cannot be bought legally, but is available on the black market — raising questions whether the ban is achieving its purpose — which is to save lives. How many more times must the industry be proven right?
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