Latest booze ban a nightmare for bottle store owners, employees

Several local bottle-store owners and employees spoke to Rekord this week about how badly the latest 28-days-long Covid alcohol sale ban had hit them.

“The lockdown killed my spirit and my soul,” said Marius Pretorius, a small-medium business liquor store owner in Silverton who was forced to sell his store after the latest lockdown booze ban.

“My costs were constantly outstripping my income,” he said.

During the lockdowns, he had to constantly dig deeper into savings to pay for employees’ salaries and keep the store afloat.

After three years of managing the business with dreams of growing it, Pretorius said he finally decided to sell it as he could no longer cope with the challenging times sucking his savings dry.

“I did not know what to do any more until the new owner walked into the store and said he will buy the store and offered to continue working with the employees, which was great for us.”

In January, as the second wave was ravaging the province, Pretorius said he was over R100 000 in arrears on his rent.

“I feel relieved after selling the store. I can feel my soul coming back to me. Now I do not have to worry about the bans anymore.”

Pretorius said the business continued to struggle even under the Monday to Thursday sale leeway.

“No one is in a hurry honestly to buy alcohol because the taverns trade until late.”

Having sold the business in June, Pretorius said he was now unemployed.

“I have a five-year-old child that I need to take care of. Now I have to see what I can do to make a living, whether it is looking for a new job or starting a new business.”

Two weeks into his new business as a bottle store owner, after 17 years in the insurance sector, Pieter Fourie was hit with the 28-day alcohol ban.

“I retired and bought the store, I thought the worst bans were over. It turned out I was wrong,” he said.

“I depended on my reserves to keep the business afloat, buy stock and make sure our doors are open but if there is another ban I am not sure if I can survive that we will have to close the doors.”

Fourie said operating for four days was putting more strain on the business.

“I recently got a R26 000 electricity bill. Without operating most of the month, I do not know how I will pay that because business is slow,” he said.

“My major concern is the employees because they get paid per hour and we are not operating enough.”

“Many alcohol stores closed down and jobs were affected and I would not like to be part of that statistics.”

Mother of two and employee in the sector Kgomotso Masalesa said the lockdowns were a nightmare as employees were constantly afraid of losing their jobs.

“I had a lot of times when I felt like I would lose my job – even now I am still afraid,” she said.

“There were times when we did not even get paid. Now I am behind on my children’s school fees. We applied for the Ters relief but I did not receive it; it has been difficult for us to provide food, pay school transport and school fees.”

Another local liquor store owner in Silverton, who asked not to be named, said the bans had a negative psychological impact on both him and his employees.

He said he had to let go of one employee as he struggled to recover financially.

“You feel like a failure. Failing your employees and family because you are not making enough money,” he said.

We need the alcohol ban to be lifted so we can get back to the business of rebuilding our economy.

SAB spoke to a small business owner about how the alcohol ban has impacted them, their employees and their livelihoods. #ResponsibleTogether pic.twitter.com/kncK1kQzJz

— The South African Breweries (@SABreweries) July 22, 2021

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