In This Article:
* Alcohol ban intended to ease pressure on hospitals
* COVID-19 outbreak now seen easing
* Government under pressure to end prohibition
By Tanisha Heiberg and Emma Rumney
JOHANNESBURG, Aug 14 (Reuters) - In an Italian bistro in an upmarket Johannesburg neighbourhood, smiling patrons chat at candle-lit tables in a scene reminiscent of less-troubled times before the COVID-19 pandemic.
But there's no alcohol on the menu. Instead, diners order red or white "coffee" served in grey mugs, the tell-tale sign of a modern-day South African speakeasy.
Under one of the world's strictest lockdowns, South Africa banned alcohol to lower hospital admissions for injuries from drink-related violence and accidents and ease the burden on healthworkers facing the worst coronavirus outbreak in Africa.
But businesses from wine makers to restaurants to informal taverns say the ban is costing jobs at a time when the economy is on its knees and President Cyril Ramaphosa is coming under pressure to end the prohibition as infection rates fall.
"Am I happy with what I'm doing? No," said the bistro owner, who asked not to be named, adding that alcohol sales had saved him from firing half a dozen staff. "They've turned everybody into criminals."
Restaurant workers, among the hardest hit by layoffs, protested last month calling for the right to sell alcohol while lobby group Agri SA said the ban had cost the wine industry 3.3 billion rand ($189 million) and 117,000 jobs.
Local media reported this week that the government body charged with managing the health crisis has recommended loosening lockdown restrictions and that has fueled speculation the ban might be lifted, possibly as soon as this weekend.
The presidency did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
'NON-ALCOHOLIC?'
Introduced in March, restrictions on alcohol sales have spawned a thriving underground industry, complete with bootleggers and online traders offering doorstep delivery.
More recently, as authorities allowed sit-down dining to resume, some restaurants have joined the illicit trade.
Just doors down from the Italian bistro, Reuters found at least two more restaurants flouting the ban, seating drinkers in back rooms or serving wine in bottles labelled "non-alcoholic".
According to statistics through July, South African police had arrested over 6,000 people on charges related to the ban.
But with alcohol now so readily available to thirsty South Africans, some question whether the measure is still enforceable - and bootleggers who once thrived under the ban are taking a hit to their business.