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By Chelsea Ntuli 
40m ago
Pretoria – More money will soon roll in for people in the events and entertainment industry after it was announced last week that the curfew would apply between midnight and 4am. This means that clubs and taverns will be open a bit longer following the move to alert level one which has taken effect today.
Mpho Mohlathedi who runs Congo’s place in Mamelodi east said this year he had to cancel three major events that he was supposed to host and was looking forward to hosting upcoming events. He said the move to level one will benefit their business.
“I was supposed to host the Mamphoza birthday celebration on March 28 which is an annual event, the kokota ma-africa winter session annual event on June 27 and Ma-africa spring show annual event on September 5 ,” he said.
Many artists relied on gigs for income and with venues that have been closed for a long time it has been a huge struggle. Mohlathedi said for artists this meant they would get the opportunity to show their talent and be able to put bread on the table.
Covid- 19 affected my businesses with several closing down due to government regulations, no income and no government funding. Mohlathedi said he had to focus on his other businesses such as his internet café and tuck shop that he runs in order to feed his family.
He explained that they planned to adhere to social distancing rules and make sure they hand over event wristbands for all customers coming to the venue and that’s how they will work out the capacity of 50%.
Tebatso Maboane who runs a pub in Mamelodi said the past couple of months had been a huge struggle and the lockdown has affected the business badly. He said the move to level one took longer than anticipated and almost cost him the business.
“We welcome level one as announced by the president and we are relieved because things will get a little bit better financially. I think it’s the right time because people are ready to go outside and have fun and just live their lives,” he said.
He said the 50% venue capacity would be practical and he was glad that they would be able to service more customers. Under normal circumstances this would be the time when many events would have taken place after the spring season kicked in.
Maboane said even though they had expected the president to allow 70% as per request from the entertainment industry he was relieved that things were slowly returning to normal. He added that he required all his staff members to sanitise and clean all surfaces frequently so that customers felt comfortable when entering his tavern.
“It seems life with coronavirus will be with us for a while and it’s important that we look after ourselves. As much as we want to have fun we have to be responsible for ourselves by wearing a mask and washing our hands repeatedly,” he added
*For the latest on the Covid-19 outbreak, visit IOL’s #Coronavirus trend page.
** If you think you have been exposed to the Covid-19 virus, please call the 24-hour hotline on 0800 029 999 or visit sacoronavirus.co.za
Pretoria News
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