President Cyril Ramaphosa has until Tuesday to respond to requests by the Gauteng Liquor Forum to relax the total ban on alcohol sales or face court action.
The forum which is comprised bout 20,000 township shebeens and taverns wrote a letter to Ramaphosa at the weekend detailing why they should be permitted to sell alcohol on a limited basis.
The lockdown regulations forbid the sale, public consumption, and transportation of alcoholic beverages.
In a letter to the President, the lawyers representing the forum said since the declaration of the state of disaster on 15 March, their clients’ businesses have suffered extensively.
They further said now that the lockdown has been extended, the effects will be more devastating.
The group said it has no objections to taking the necessary steps to curb the virus but insists the regulations as they stand are unconstitutional.
They want President Ramaphosa to reach some sort of a balance between their interests and the need to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
They have given Ramaphosa until midday on Tuesday to relax the current regulations or meet them in court.