Call for new Eastern Cape booze ban

Eastern Cape premier Oscar Mabuyane wants alcohol sales banned in the Eastern Cape and judging by the latest crime statistics, he does have something of a point.

Since the start of June, 3,145  crimes have been reported in the province. A total of 94 people have been killed and a further 77 raped - numbers that are rivalling  the total number of residents who have lost their lives to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

A further 354 cases are connected to assault GBH. 

The shocking statistics are contained in a provincial command council (PCC) report released by Mabuyane on Monday. 

The PCC now wants to convince the national command council to consider reinstating the ban on alcohol sales in the Eastern Cape, particularly since the provincial health system is struggling with rising Covid-19 numbers.

The lifting of the booze ban has already set  SA back in its fight against the coronavirus.

In hotspot provinces like the Western Cape, there has been  massive surge of people in hospital emergency rooms with alcohol-related injuries which has put additional strain on health-care numbers and filled up ICU beds needed for Covid-19 patients.

Mabuyane said there were 25 culpable homicide cases, 42 attempted murders and 51 drunk driving charges resulting in 25 car accidents.

This, health MEC Sindiswa Gomba told journalists, had resulted in hospitals and clinics seeing a spike in the number of trauma cases, with Frere Hospital in East London treating 67 trauma patients this past weekend alone.

There were 80 trauma cases at Butterworth Hospital and 62 at Livingstone Hospital in Port Elizabeth, while Holy Cross Hospital in Flagstaff had 38 cases, provincial health spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo said.

He did not readily have statistics for other hospitals.

While Gomba called on people to drink responsibly, Mabuyane told eNCA that a ban on alcohol was good for the province and its fight against the global pandemic. 

“We can't be a country that celebrates liquor in the manner we have seen; people demonstrating and singing.

“It is very unfortunate that we can even think we can grow our economy through alcohol and all those kinds of issues,” he said.

Mabuyane is the latest politician to campaign for banning alcohol after EFF leader Julius Malema strongly opposed the lifting of the ban last week, while Gauteng education MEC Panyaza Lesufi has been on a one-man campaign for an alcohol-free SA.

Gomba said the unbanning of alcohol had unintended consequences on the already fragile health care system.

“This is why I want to make a plea to the people of the Eastern Cape to drink responsibly. When they over indulge, that has been proven to result in car accidents, stabbings, rapes and general violence which adds more pressure to our already over-stretched doctors and nurses.

“We all need to be responsible and not abuse alcohol or else our health care system might be overwhelmed because of the number of trauma cases and Covid-19,” she said.

WhatsApp rumours have surfaced that the ban on the sale of alcohol would be reinstated, resulting in customers rushing to liquor stores to stock up on Monday.

However, the presidency said on Monday afternoon that there had not been any calls to reinstate the ban on alcohol sales. This comes as a number of voicenotes were circulating claiming that the government was going to reinstate the ban on alcohol sales this week.

The ban on sales was lifted under level 3 of the lockdown, but sales are only allowed from Monday to Thursday.

“No such calls have been tabled before the national coronavirus command council at this point,” said presidency spokesperson Khusela Diko in response to questions on Monday. 

Gomba called on people to adhere to the regulations, saying the Eastern Cape had recorded high numbers of confirmed cases of Covid-19 “not because of what has been called our incompetence, but because some people are hell-bent on not adhering to the regulations”.

“If we don't work towards one direction, the Eastern Cape will peak too quickly and that will not be good for us. We will continue testing as many people as possible so that those who test positive will get the treatment they need,” she said.

Health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize is expected to visit the Eastern Cape this week over the continuing increase in coronavirus cases — even more than Gauteng.

In his weekly newsletter on Monday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said he was concerned with the number of confirmed cases but called on citizens not to be alarmed.

“During the course of this coming week, we can expect the total number of cases will pass the 50,000 mark.

“Sadly, we are also likely to record the 1,000th death from this devastating disease,” he said.

Meanwhile, Gomba heaped praise on nurses and doctors, saying their efforts, which have been “nothing short of great”, had not gone unnoticed.

“They have gone above and beyond the call of duty and ensured those infected by this virus are professionally cared for. Their efforts have not gone unnoticed, but we must ask more of them still because the war against this invisible enemy is far from over.

“This is why we have armed our front-line workers with masks, gloves, goggles, aprons, and sanitisers as we cannot send soldiers to war without their weapons,” she said, adding that since the coronavirus outbreak Bhisho had ordered personal protective equipment worth R281m.