Booze ban: Thousands face economic ruin, says Taverners' leader Lucky Ntimane

The government places the blame on alcohol for violence-related hospitalisations that are clogging up hospital beds. But there is a school of thought that there is something other than Covid-19 containment and treatment concerns behind the ANC decision to prohibit the sale and distribution of alcohol yet allow people to travel cheek-by-jowl in taxis. In this interview with BizNews founder Alec Hogg, Lucky Ntimane – who represents about 35,000 tavern owners – says the decision to suddenly shut drinking holes is going to cause enormous financial difficulty to an estimated 1m people. – Editor