Like many people who enjoy a tipple, I also have some riveting tales about my relationship and experiences with alcohol. To an extent, the experiences have been both negative and positive, with the negatives including near-death escapades. On the other hand, the increased sociability associated with alcohol use has led to productive ventures through the inspiration of writing ideas for example.
As a mind-altering substance, it is understandable why drinking alcohol carries an age restriction. Consuming alcohol was never meant for children. Children who consume alcohol risk unpalatable consequences almost in a similar way to those who engage in sexual activities. Alcohol and children should never be used in the same sentence except as a warning for them to stay away from the stuff. It is the role of parents to ensure that their children do not end addicted to alcohol, which will have a negative effect on the lives and futures.
Alcohol is meant to be consumed by mature adults who can afford to buy it without jeopardising the financial security of their families. An adult is supposed to know when he or she has had enough to drink to ensure that they are answerable for their subsequent actions. Sometimes it becomes the duty of other adults to determine when other people have had enough to drink.
It sometimes happens that those who cannot afford to buy alcohol for themselves depend on the generosity of their friends to entertain them. The so-called baadjie vangers never know when to stop and may need persuasion and even rationing to maintain peace and order. This is because when they have had too much to drink they misbehave and even turn against their very benefactors. It is therefore justifiable to control the drinking habits of such individuals as if they were children.
The approach adopted by President Cyril Ramaphosa in instituting a third ban on the sale of alcohol is akin to the treatment meted out to children and baadjie vangers to dissuade and control their drinking habits. This third ban was ostensibly implemented to preserve hospital space for Covid-19 patients as the purchase and consumption of alcohol increases incidents of violence, which in turn burden trauma units in hospitals.
One brush is used to paint all consumers of alcohol as out-of-control, belligerent and blood-thirsty hooligans. The logic here is “after people have had a drink, they fight and beat each other to a pulp. Alternatively, they drink, get drunk and jump into their cars and drive like maniacs and cause deadly accidents”.
The president, like so many other people, has used the reported empty trauma unit at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital during New Year’s Eve to buttress his argument on the undesirability of the sale of alcohol and, by extension, the drinking thereof. What the president forgot to mention, either deliberately or inadvertently, was that the ban on alcohol sales has always been accompanied by other measures meant to ensure the spread of Covid-19 is minimised.
He has always reiterated the non-pharmaceutical interventions, including the wearing of masks, washing of hands and social distancing to curb the spread. The positive development of the empty trauma ward should be properly analysed to ensure that it can be maintained and replicated. Failure in this regard will be similar to a wrong diagnosis, which results in a wrong prescription and treatment.
The fact that in addition to the sale ban, there was a curfew between 9pm and 6am ensured that people would not gallivant and engage in mischief. Gatherings were also restricted, which meant that people could not go to taverns or nightclubs, where the possibility of engaging in fights is much likely. Seeing that the ban was announced when the festive season was in full swing, the likelihood is that most people had already stocked up on their alcohol and had orderly and peacefully consumed it in the safety and serenity of their homes on New Year’s Eve and other days.
To ascribe the emptiness of the trauma ward to the ban on the sale of alcohol is the height of myopia. The government’s approach smacks of a crusade against alcohol. The liquor industry has been dealt a low blow, with many jobs placed in jeopardy. The SAB recently cancelled a R2.5bn capital investment owing to the unfriendly business environment. In trying to justify the ban, Ramaphosa asserted that, “what we have sought to do is to save lives in our country and balance livelihoods and protect those livelihoods”.
The reality is that the government has tried to control the lives of citizens and in the process has destroyed many livelihoods. This madness has to stop before it is too late. The president must lift the ban on the sale of alcohol and thus save the livelihoods of the people of SA.
LISTEN | Police minister Bheki Cele reveals how he feels about alcohol & more
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