'It’s been tough': Tavern owner sells car to stock up on alcohol

A tavern owner, whose business took a hard knock during the lockdown, has sold his car to stock up on alcohol.

“The alcohol ban has affected my business big time. It took us to zero,” Abraham Mkhabela told TimesLIVE.

“But I don’t blame the governing processes, because at the end of the day it was about saving our brothers' and sisters' lives. We hope government will come with better solutions for us to pick up our businesses,” said Mkhabela.

With the resumption of alcohol sales on Tuesday, under level 2 restrictions of the Covid-19 lockdown, Mkhabela spent just more than R150,000 on stock for his pub in Springs on the East Rand.

To afford the stock to “restart his business”, Mkhabela sold his car two weeks ago for about R200,000.

“I also couldn’t pay my bond and was running behind with my children’s school fees, so it was a very difficult time.

“I hope and pray that the cases of the disease will go down so that we can go back to our routines and be able to work as normal.”

He felt that the economic hardship he endured was for a good cause. “I might say that government must stop doing this to us, but if people are dying, there is nothing they can do and they have to do what is right for us. I understand that most of us [tavern owners] are angry, but if government didn’t protect me, I [could] be dead.”

Mkhabela said when he reopens his pub this week, he will implement strict social distancing and other protocols in terms of the regulations.

“If you come to the pub and don’t have a mask, I can sell you one for R10. No mask, no enter. I have also bought a few sanitisers.”

TimesLIVE

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