Restaurants in South Africa hold “empty seats” protest
Restaurateurs in South Africa have lined up empty seats to dramatise the ruinous effects of the coronavirus
A protest dubbed “Million Seats in the Streets” has kicked off across many cities in South Africa. Scores of restaurant owners have joined in the protest by placing empty tables and chairs in front of their premises.
The protest follows the South African government’s extension of the COVID-19 lockdown and regulations which restrict eateries and other popular spots for socialising such as bars.
The mass demonstration was planned by the Restaurant Association of South Africa (RASA) to highlight the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic on restaurants in the country.
The South African Police Service (SAPS) had warned restaurant owners not to stage the protests, but they went ahead, defying the police.
“Irrational” regulations
The restaurant industry in South Africa employs approximately 800,000 people, who now risk losing their jobs because of the lockdown.
With the national COVID-19 case count above 390,000, the government has doubled up on restrictions. South Africa accounts for more than half of all the cases of coronavirus infection confirmed across the African continent.
However, the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) argues that the regulations barring restaurants from operating are irrational.
The DA is supporting the protestors, insisting they have every right to demonstrate against “damaging COVID-19 regulations that endanger their livelihoods”.
The party said people have a constitutional right to protest and urged SAPS to be “consequent in their conduct”.
Hospitality gets militant
Wandile Freedom Nzimande, a restaurant chef and member of RASA, said it was about time South Africa’s hospitality industry took a stand.
The government’s COVID-19 restrictions are “killing” restaurant owners and rendering many jobless, he said.
“It is not just an ordinary day,” Nzimande wrote on RASA’s website. “Today, the hospitality industry is taking a stand, together in the streets all over the country. We want our voices to be heard.
“We want the government to understand how we feel … These COVID-19 regulations are killing us. We are strangled and our hands are cut off.”
E A Alanore
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