Lockdown regulations hurt farmers and customers

The rules of lockdown mean that you can buy luxury imported chocolate, but not things such as winter clothes, heaters, toys, hairbrushes or gardening equipment.

“It doesn’t make sense that I’m allowed to go into a shop that has everything on its shelves, but I’m only allowed to buy less than half the things on sale,” said Jaco Viljoen of Kya Sands in Johannesburg.

On Saturday, he walked out of Cresta Shopping Centre in Randburg empty-handed because all the shops were not selling anything he was looking for.

“I came to find something to keep myself busy with, but nothing like that is being sold. It’s a big frustration,” he said.

Lauren Rota, from Randburg, wanted to buy material and sowing needles for her sewing machine because she wanted to make masks for welfare organisations.

“I find it baffling that nobody wants to sell material or needles,” she said.

Colleen Gray wanted to by printer from Game, but she was also left frustrated.

“I wanted to apply for emergency aid from the Unemployment Insurance Fund for employees, but Game said I had to get an affidavit from the police saying that it’s for an emergency,” she said.

Grant McCleery said it was madness that hair care products were available on shelves, but you can’t buy a hairbrush or a hairdryer.

He also believes that hardware stores should be released from the lockdown regulation.

“The lockdown is the ideal time to get your house in order, but you can’t do anything because you’re not allowed to buy hardware. It’s absurd,” he said.

Bea da Costa, of Sundowner in Johannesburg, said her six-month-old baby, Ben, needed a special kind of milk because he had developed a reflux problem earlier, but the baby store that has the greatest variety of milk has been closed as a result of the lockdown.

Louis Meintjies, head of the agricultural organisation TLU SA (Transvaalse Landbou-unie), said the regulations were also a major headache for farmers, who are “meant to deliver essential services, but they can’t buy the basic things they need to keep their business going.

“For example, they can’t buy batteries for their tractors or wire to fix their fencing. How can you run a farm like this?”

Ina Opperman, a consumer rights expert, said consumers understand that it’s important to only buy essential goods during the lockdown, but that government also had to listen to consumers.

“After two weeks, it’s clear that things such as baby clothes, winter clothes, as well as appliances such as washing machines, stoves and electrical appliance are essential for consumers,” she said.

“People don’t buy winter clothing early in the year, especially if they have children on whom last year’s clothes won’t fit.

“People also need blankets and heaters when winter arrives.

“If your kettle or stove breaks during this time, it’s cold water and raw vegetables and fruits for you.

“And what does one do if your cell phone breaks or you need a computer so that your children can be taught online?” she asked.

Opperman said bigger items such as washing machines and stoves can be sold online by shops that already deliver other products and therefore already form part of the supply chain.

“These sorts of practical problems deserve attention, especially now that the lockdown is being extended,” she said.

Chain retailers did this week undertake to sell products and clothes for babies and toddlers up to three years at cost price in supermarkets and pharmacies, the department of trade and industry announced on Thursday.

Dean Macpherson, the DA spokesperson on trade and industry, said the party believes that people should be allowed to buy all the products that are available on the shelves of supermarkets and pharmacies during the lockdown period.

He said he had sent a request to this effect to Trade and Industry Minister Ebrahim Patel two weeks ago, but the minister simply ignored his correspondence and requests for feedback.

“The strict and absurd regulations have the effect of undermining the legitimacy of the lockdown because people feel that they aren’t being treated reasonably,” said Macpherson.

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