Exporters Club Western Cape (ECWC) has taken its appeal to have restrictions on wine exports lifted to the highest office in South Africa.
Chairman Terry Gale confirmed that the Department of Transport (DoT) had received the ECWC’s most recent appeal but nothing further had resulted.
“It’s very frustrating,” he said.
At stake is one of South Africa’s most lucrative sectors that have export commitments to various European countries but, under Disaster Management Act (DMA) lockdown limitations, is prohibited from transporting products containing alcohol through any of South Africa’s export ports.
Interviewed earlier this week by FTW’s features editor, Liesl Venter, Gale said: “Prohibiting the export of wine will have a massive impact as 290 000 lives are dependent on this sector alone, let alone the R9bn boost to the economy.”
Recently the shipment of South Africa’s wine exports, of which 95% emanate from the DA-controlled Western Cape region, was given the go-ahead to proceed to the EU after the DoT gazetted a full concessionary extension for wine producers.
An earlier concession granted wine farmers limited exemption from DMA provisions, especially in so far it prevented harvesting and related agricultural processing.
But in what seems like tug-of-war brinkmanship between the office of Mbalula and the office of police minister Bheki Cele, tasked with enforcing DMA lockdown provisions, the wine reprieve was repealed and producers are once again hamstrung.
“In the interim we have appealed to the President as well,” Gale said.
“So we’ll be watching with bated breath tonight as we’re trying every avenue that we can.”
On Tuesday night President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a several billion rand economic stimulus package. Tonight South Africa will find out from its President how the economy will be eased back into operation.
Economists such as Mike Schussler and Dawie Roodt, although differing on some points, agree that revenue-restraining measures stemming from lockdown demands should be lifted at the earliest possible time.
Cele, however, has dug his heels in, insisting that restrictions on the consumption of alcohol, which include its transportation for whatever reason, should continue until the lockdown ends at midnight next Thursday.
Roodt, Schussler and others have warned on several occasions that the long-term effects of inflexible lockdown policing could have dire consequences for South Africa in the long term.
“Poverty is a bigger killer than Covid-19,” Roodt said in recent webinar.
