Happy hour
SHOP EN DOP: Wynberg Ultra Liquor Store customers waiting to purchase their favourite wine. Picture: Lizell Persens
It was happy hour outside liquor outlets yesterday after the ban on alcohol sales was lifted for a second time during the five-month long lockdown.
Throngs of people headed out early to dop winkels to stock up, after the bans on dop and entjie sales were lifted by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Saturday night.
The country’s lockdown was downgraded to Level 2 as a result of a decrease in daily Covid-19 infections rate, the president said.
Since 27 March, mense were not able to buy their favourite tobacco products, which saw black market traders emerging and selling counterfeit entjies for as much as R300 for a pack of 20.
Although the alcohol ban was lifted in June, it was reinstated with immediate effect on 12 July, after the government noted an increase in alcohol-related incidents at hospitals, raising fears that health facilities would not be able to cope with Covid-19 cases.
Following increasing pressure from both the public and the alcohol and tobacco industries, the bans were finally lifted over the weekend.
Yesterday, a long line snaked in the parking area of Ultra Liquors in Wynberg.
Janice Plaatjies, 39, who came all the way from Gugulethu, says she budgeted to splurge R16 000 on dop, in case the ban is reinstated: “I’m here to stock up on enough alcohol, because you never know what the president’s next move will be.”
An annoyed Michael Davies, 63, from Retreat, says he didn’t think a ban was necessary: “This is a matter of dictatorship. We are not children. Other parts of the world did not impose a liquor ban.”
At Makro in Ottery, Rolanda English was over the moon as she celebrated her 40th birthday yesterday: “I’m very excited to have something to drink tonight.”
Mervin Arendse, 60, says he didn’t even plan on buying alcohol: “I was sent to buy toner (for a printer) and A4 paper, then I saw the queue on the liquor side, so I just decided to go.”
In Khayelitsha and Strand, there were fewer lines at liquor outlets, but that could be due to the pouring rain keeping people indoors.
Oupa Saudiq Abader was emotional when he got his hands on his favourite wine: “This wine was not available on the black market and finally getting it now brought so much joy to me.
“I just wish they never ban alcohol sales again as some of us almost got sick from not drinking.”
As for smokers, Abduragheem Ryklief rushed out to his local corner shop in Wynberg for his daily two boxes of Marlboro Beyond Red.
“It feels like a miracle to buy smokes at a normal price again. I don’t have to burn a hole in my pocket anymore.”