With government expected to announce the easing of lockdown regulations to level 3 next week, the SA Informal Traders Alliance (Saita) and the alcohol industry are pilling on the pressure, lobbying the national command council to also lift the ban on alcohol and tobacco sales, some of the stringent measures put in place to curb the spread of the virus.
The Saita and the Johannesburg Informal Traders Association have also questioned government’s lack of consultation with the informal sector which employs 20% of all the employed South Africans, according to Statistics SA last year.
Rosheda Muller, Saita national president, told City Press on Saturday: “We have this week lobbied the national command council to also lift the ban on alcohol and tobacco sell as the country heads to level three.