POLL | Should lockdown regulations be amended to allow wine sales online?

Western Cape MEC for agriculture Ivan Meyer has appealed to the national government to ease restrictions around the transporting and sale of alcohol, arguing that doing so will help save the liquor industry.

President Cyril Ramaphosa recently announced a ban on the sale of alcohol and restrictions around the transportation of liquor for 14 days under adjusted level 4, after a surge in Covid-19 cases.

In his letter to the minister of agriculture, land reform and rural development, Thoko Didiza, Meyer requests that the regulations be amended to allow for the transport of wine samples, the transport of wine by tourists, and the transport of wine to bottling plants and storage.

He also called for wine and liquor to be sold online and delivered to consumers' residences via transport or courier services.

“Wine is the third-biggest export product of the Western Cape economy and contributes 6.5% to the province's exports. Implementing the above amendments to section 29 of the regulations published will protect the jobs of the 45,610 people who work in the primary production side of the industry and support the livelihoods of 228,053 people,” he said. 

Meyer's plea came as wine producers body Vinpro filed an urgent interdict application to lift the ban on the sale of wine in the Western Cape, arguing that the province's government should be allowed to make their own decisions on liquor sales.

“We need to make and implement decisions that balance preserving both lives and livelihoods. Decisions should be made at a provincial level, based on scientific evidence and according to the infection rate and hospital admissions across these provinces,” said Vinpro MD Rico Basson.