The South African Liquor Brandowners Association (Salba) has dismissed a proposal that Covid-19 vaccinations should be a requirement for purchasing alcohol, warning that they believe it is not a viable option for South Africa.
Salba stated that it supports public education and awareness efforts to encourage vaccination and behaviour that prevent infections such as social distancing, wearing of masks and regular use of sanitizers.
Salba also said that its members are actively encouraging their employees to get the vaccine and will work with all stakeholders to promote the vaccine drive to reach herd immunity, however it stated that it does not have the room to block customers from buying alcohol.
Salba said that, “We do not believe the proposal is viable because businesses, irrespective of the product offering cannot deny access to consumers. Health education and awareness programmes are the established measures to encourage voluntary uptake for health interventions.”
The alcohol industry was responding to a proposal by Limpopo Health MEC, Phophi Ramathuba, who said that her department was in discussion with liquor traders in the province about refusing to sell alcohol to unvaccinated customers. Ramathuba said that while there is no national legislation that forces people to vaccinate, the government needs to look at other ways of increasing vaccine uptake.
Alcohol Court Case
SA has faced complete alcohol sales bans on four separate occasions since the end of March 2020 as part of the lockdown restrictions. In a case held in the Western Cape High Court this week, Vinpro ( a non-profit company representing 3 500 SA wine producers) contested the approach followed by the government towards liquor ban restrictions.
Following arguments from the legal representatives of Vinpro and the government, a full bench of three judges has reserved judgment on the case.
Sources: BusinessTech
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