EFF rejects Gauteng Liquor Forum’s bid to relax restrictions during Covid-19 lockdown
12 April 2020
The EFF rejects Gauteng Liquor Forum's call for government to relax regulations banning the sale of alcohol during the national lockdown. This call is tantamount to conspiring for the mass murder of the poor, in particular black people. Because, selling alcohol during a war against Covid 19 to communities with historic existing problems of access to adequate healthcare, malnutrition and general hunger only serves one purpose; to finish our people off.
The Liquor Forum has also threatened to approach the Constitutional Court should government fail to heed to their murderous demands. The EFF will, without hesitation, gather a powerful legal team to oppose any court action by any Liquor Forum anywhere in the country to lift the ban on the sale of alcohol. We shall oppose them in the name of our constitutional obligation to defend people's right to life.
We are aware that the lobby for relaxing of alcohol regulations is sponsored by the alcohol cartels, particularly Ablnbev and Distell, who are the biggest suppliers of alcohol in South Africa. This past week, the Business Day Newspaper, which is a mouthpiece of the white capitalist establishment wrote an editorial calling for the relaxation of alcohol regulations during the lockdown. Their stated purpose was so as to save the profitability of Ablnbev and Distell white owned capitalist corporations.
Another mouthpiece of the establishment, the Sunday Times, has repeated the same call under the false pretext that alcohol will save South Africa's economy. Meaning the white capitalist establishment in South Africa seeks to make profit out of alcohol production and distribution in the middle of a war on coronavirus.
It is an indisputable fact that Alcohol abuse is at the centre of socially destructive behaviour.
It affects the cognitive ability of individuals and results in poor decision making and violence.
This has been proven by the decrease in violent crimes and violent behaviour in general. To continue to the sale of alcohol under the conditions of a lockdown will lead to an overburdened health care system, overwhelmed law enforcement agencies and generally a broad disregard of lockdown regulations inspired by drunkards across communities.
In addition, it is also a fact that alcohol weakens the human immune system; meaning it reduces changes of human resistance and formidability to the virus. People with weak immune systems will die much quicker. Therefore, those calling for alcohol sales are conspiring to give Covid 19 an advantage over the lives of our people. They must be called out for who they are; murderers. The EFF calls on government to unequivocally oppose the relaxation of alcohol restrictions.
We must refuse to be drawn into a general conspiracy for mass murder by the alcohol industry. Long has this industry benefitted out of the destruction of life, in particular the lives of the poor, majority of which are blacks.
The first and sacrosanct constitutional duty of government is not profit maximization. But to guarantee the right to life of its citizens.
Issued by Vuyani Pambo, National Spokesperson, EFF, 12 April 2020
