The South African Liquor Brandowners Association (Salba) and the National Liquor Traders (NLT) have written to President Cyril Ramaphosa, calling on government to declare a state of emergency after more than 200 liquor stores, as well as warehouses, were looted.

Millions of rands worth of stock at warehouses and retail premises across KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng has been stolen and stores damaged.

“The mass looting, threat to lives and livelihoods and destruction of property has reached proportions that require the rapid and effective deployment of the South African National Defence Force troops to assist business owners.

"Many of these are small and medium-sized enterprises and are unable to protect their employees, businesses and livelihoods alone,” says Salba CEO Kurt Moore.

After the ransacking of retail stores, the warehouses of liquor companies and distributors became a primary target of looting and vandalism.

“Our big concern is that the focus is shifting to our primary production sites, breweries and distilleries, where high volume pre-production alcohol is stored.

"Any attack on these sites poses a serious safety risk for our security personnel on site, as well as looters and surrounding communities,” adds Moore.

The industry believes many of these attacks were politically orchestrated, as well as coordinated by organised crime, which served to grow the illicit alcohol sector, says NLT convenor Lucky Ntimane.

“If the destruction continues unabated, the liquor industry will reach a point of no return and more than 200 000 people will be out of work,” he says.

The latest losses exacerbate the dire economic situation that the industry finds itself in after the four successive alcohol bans over the past 16 months related to Covid-19.  These have decimated the liquor industry, already putting 233 547 jobs at risk and causing tax revenue losses of R34.2-billion, as well as R10.2-billion in lost excise revenue.

The industry urges Ramaphosa to take the necessary steps to stabilise the country, mobilise the necessary resources to restore law and order in the affected areas and prevent further violence, loss of life and economic destruction.