Chairman of Bar Owners Association, Geratgu Tesfalem addressing the press
Uganda Bar Owners Association has appealed to government to open bars and pledged to observe all Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) put in place, saying that they have made losses in billions of shillings due to COVID-19 induced lockdown restrictions.
Addressing the press at Kati Kati Restaurant on Friday, the Association members led by their Chairman Tesfalem Gherathu, who is also the Proprietor of Casablanca Bar in Kololo, said that since the locked down in March 2020, bars and entertainment sub sector have lost billions of shillings, rendered many Ugandan jobless and others in losing properties to banks and money lenders after failing to meet their loan obligations.
“The bar business generates approximately Shs2.8 trillion in revenue annually. Since March 2020, bars have suffered a revenue loss of Shs1.1 trillion and continue to count losses as businesses remain closed,” Gherathu said.
He said that if government opens bars as it has done to other activities, they are willing to follow the Ministry of Health SOPs and will put other internal guidelines to ensure safety of customers and staff.
“We wish to make a plea to Government to allow us to re-open our businesses with strict adherence to COVID-19 Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). The unprecedented nature of the pandemic has changed our way of life and how businesses operate and bars are not an exception,” he said.
According to Gherathu, the closure has affected other service providers who include farmers who supply products to breweries, food, manufacturers of tissue and detergents, taxis, bodaboda riders among others.
“It goes without saying that the continued closure has led to massive job losses with many individuals previously employed in bars now out of jobs. The bar businesses have also been forced to lay off staff, dealing a major blow to many Ugandans who are employed as cleaners, bouncers, service staff, chefs, accountants, store keepers, security personnel,” he said.
Among other health guidelines the bar association wishes to implement in addition to the ministry of health ones includes the following:
- All patrons must wear face masks before admission.
- All patrons and staff must wash hands with soap/sanitizer provided by the outlet.
- Temperature of all patrons and staff will be checked using hand-held temperature guns; persons with a temperature above 37.0°C will be denied entry and handed over to the authorities.
- Registration of client details (names, telephone contact, temperature reading, and time of arrival) will be carried out to ease contact tracing. Persons who decline to provide their details will be denied entry to the outlet.
- Bars will operate at 50% of normal capacity to allow sufficient social distancing and crowd control.
- Outdoor seating will be encouraged over indoor seating.
- No usage of air-conditioning.
- No loud music shall be played to avoid clients having to shout when talking.
- A 2-meter distance will be observed between tables.
- All surfaces including tables, chairs, and counters will be sanitized before clients sit and after they leave.
- All bar staff will always wear face masks.
- Cashless transactions will be encouraged.
- Management of all bars shall ensure availability of sufficient security to evict non-complying clients.
- Curfew hours shall be respected by all outlets and all bars will close at 8:00 pm to allow sufficient time for clients to travel home before 9:00 pm.
By Drake Nyamugabwa
