Be realistic about alcohol ban

Mmegi Editor | Friday February 26, 2021 14:48

 Details of the incidents are that the police reported that they received a report on February 14 from Kanye Seventh Day Adventist Hospital that yet another 34-year-old woman had complications after drinking the traditional brew.  The police further revealed that the substance was being examined to establish what could have caused the woman’s death. The woman’s death, though it is likely to be one of many others has fuelled the debate around the lifting of the ban on alcohol and sustainability given growing incidents of people indulging in illegal traditional brews which are also health hazards.  Since January 4, when a nationwide curfew came into effect  liquor sale also came to a halt. As the country completes what is the second dry month, the unavailability of liquor has arguably had two major repercussions on health and government revenue. Botswana is amongst a handful of countries that have  stopped alcohol sales while imposing  nationwide curfews despite its relatively low cases of COVID-19 deaths/cases. On the contrary, other countries that have been reeling under severe COVID-19 attacks seem to have relaxed their regulations on alcohol as they consider it an essential industry in the economy.

While we all know that alcohol consumption can exacerbate health vulnerability, risk-taking behaviors, mental health issues and violence during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to consider the consequences of its ban on the economy.

Firstly, one has to look at the condition of addicts. Studies conducted elsewhere indicate that acute withdrawal symptoms from alcohol can manifests as seizures, delirium and aggressive behaviour, and can even be fatal. Therefore, while the ban might have been well intended, it could possible be negatively impacting on the nation’s health other than other factor such loss of source of income and benefits associated with the alcohol industry including its role to the mainstream economy. Media reports suggest production of home-made liquor like such as Modaefok has increased in rural areas while a grey market for bottled liquor has mushroomed in urban areas. Some of them add that bottled alcohol is being sold at twice its rate in most cases. While we are determined to stem the tide of the pandemic and our minds are engrossed in coming out of the the disease with few lives lost, we must also engage on the aftermath of this pandemic with sober minds that interrogate the reality that comes with the ban on alcohol. At the rate that things are currently going, we may find our country battling another pandemic of diseases that would also threaten the existence of humankind coupled with economic troubles that come with the ban.  Already, on the economic front the country has lost a large chunk of revenue through the ban though not yet quantifiably known. The alcoholic beverage industry contributes a lot to the country’s GDP.  Sisters and brothers have also lost employment in the process and the situation does not seem to be  abating.  This is to the exclusion of people who have been laid off by their employees in other sectors of the economy who are also reeling from the negative impacts of the pandemic. Additionally,  Kgalagadi Breweries (KBL) has been forced to close down production activities due to ban thus impacting negatively on employees and the entire alcohol value chain.

These are devastating effects, and authorities must therefore ponder hard and make realistic decisions regarding the state of the industry and by extension the economy. There seems not to be any clear long term solution in place from government on how we are going to deal with the issue of alcohol while battling COVID-19 given that the disease is not going anywhere anytime soon a reality that the powers that be do not seem to be oblivious of.

We urge those in power to take stock and consider opening the industry, at least as many people have suggested before, in a properly managed approach rather than a complete ban on sale as it is currently the situation.

Today’s thought

“They say so many people die because of alcohol. Perhaps they never realized how many of them are born because of it.”  Unknown