07 Jun 2020

When President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi announced government’s intention to ban the sale of alcohol in April to contain the spread of the deadly Coronavirus, alcohol lovers rushed to liquor outlets to stockpile on alcoholic beverages.

No one knew 'however' when the ban would last.  

As alcohol storages dried up in homes of those who could not do without it, they devised other means just to get by.  

Homemade recipes started flying all over and trended in social media.  

However, the consumption of those concoctions was placed under scrutiny by health officials.  

Worse still, a duo was reported in the media to have died after consuming a homemade brew near Khakhea.

The thirst for alcohol continued to haunt alcohol lovers who took to social media and made hilarious posts about the Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Ms Peggy Serame, making her gain instant popularity, which lasted on social media during the entire period of extreme social distancing.  

The minister became a darling to all with memes of her trending across social networks.

She even earned titles such as ‘Miss Universe’.  All these praises showered upon her came in the form of a protest for her to resume the sale of alcohol as many felt they could not cope anymore with the stress and anxiety brought about by Covid-19.

However, the big moment arrived on May 31 when the President announced extra measures to ease extreme social distancing to allow the sale of alcohol.  

The announcement kept almost everyone glued to the screen just to get an affirmation of what they had longed and prayed for.  

On June 1, when Minister Serame announced the resumption of alcohol sales, social media went abuzz once again with posts of people showering her with even more praises.

On June 3 when liquor outlets finally opened for the first time since lockdown, pictures of people in long queues were captured throughout the country.

BOPA interviewed a gentleman who made sure that he was first on the queue at Spar Tops Mafenyatlala Mall in Molepolole, Mr Kenanao Ramontshonyana.  He said he was happy that he  could now buy alcohol.  

He said he spent around P1 200  to purchase his favourite drinks, citing that he purchased large quantities just in case there were ‘unforeseen circumstances’.
Bar owners on Wednesday also rushed to stockpile on alcoholic beverages to resume their businesses, which were at their knees due to the pandemic.  

Nevertheless, they are not optimistic about the future of their businesses as they were not likely to make any profit.

Bar owners say operating hours and conditions under the new regulations do not favour their businesses since they only make money when customers purchase and sit-in.  

They said since they would be operating business with same hours as the bottle stores, meaning they will make less sales unless they could have their customers sit-in.

Mr Motshwari Setshwantsho, who operates bars in Medie and Kweneng stated that their businesses were going to suffer because the nature of their business thrived because of sit-ins.  

Since the new regulations dictate that customers should only purchase and drink at home, most consumers will not be comfortable drinking at home in front of children.

He said this brought the question of morality into perspective.

Ms Veronica Thebeyame shared the same sentiments with Mr Setshwantsho, saying that the kind of business they operate thrived with sit-ins, therefore they will not make any profit

She further stated that Covid-19 had negatively affected their businesses, emphasising that traders of her caibre who have sourced funding from financial institutions had no way out since creditors demand to be paid their dues in full.

For his part, Sefalana Molepolole branch manager, Mr Baone Kegakilwe said that when they opened on Wednesday their stock flew out of the shelves.  

He stated that this showed that Batswana were thirsty for alcoholic beverages as they bought in bulk and registered higher sales on that particular day. Ends