Subsequent to the government’s decision to ban the sale of alcohol indefinitely, Kgalagadi Breweries Limited (KBL) has also to suspend it’s operations indefinitely.
It has been more than a month now since the government suspended the sale of alcohol. In an effort to counter the government’s move, KBL attempted to force the government to open up through court of law. However, KBL lost the case, which was supposed to be urgent, with costs.
KBL had recently revealed that they lost big due to sudden suspension of alcohol. The company has indicated that they had throw away thousands of litres of Chibuku due to its short shelf life.
Overwhelmed by the losses they incurred and continuing to experience, KBL has announced that most of their operations will be suspended until further notice. The suspension of operations is expected to commence on Monday.
The company resolved to suspend most of its operations as they cannot see any light at the end of the tunnel. KBL revealed through a press release;
“Kgalagadi Breweries (Pty) Limited (KBL) wishes to notify its valued stakeholders that it will suspend a majority of operations at all sites from Monday, 9th August 2021.
Following the announcement of the alcohol ban on 28th June 2021, KBL immediately stopped production at the Francistown and Gaborone Chibuku plants, due to the nature of the product. However, we continued production of clear beer brands with the intention of building stocks in anticipation that the ban would be lifted sooner rather than later.
We are now on the 39th day of the alcohol ban; and without line of sight of when the ban will be lifted, we cannot continue to produce indefinitely. Therefore, from 9th August, employees will be asked to remain at home until further notice, and a minimal number of critical operations will continue at select Gaborone sites only. The extent of the impact of this suspension on employees is still under consultation with all relevant parties.
The company had previously aligned with suppliers of the decision to suspend, until further notice, payments due from 5th August 2021.
KBL is painfully aware of the impact this will have on our employees and the overall supply chain whose livelihoods depend on the beer industry and requests their understanding.
We will continue our efforts to engage Government on this critical issue, which has had a devastating impact on the 50,000 lives and 200,000 livelihoods represented in the industry and our extensive value chain.”
