Faced with the epidemic of the new coronavirus having induced a prolongation of the state of emergency in Gabon and its natural corollary, the confinement of Grand Libreville, the concern of hoteliers, restaurateurs, owners of discotheques and bars is growing despite the adoption this April 27 of a partial lockdown. The percentage must be enormous of the establishments which could definitively disappear, of the jobs with. Outline
Announced on a Friday, the night of March 13 to 14, the closure of restaurants, bars and nightclubs until further notice and the ban on the gathering of more than 50 people was a real blow for the players in this sector. A logical decision, since it is almost impossible in these establishments, especially nightclubs, to ask people to stand a meter apart.
And it’s not just in the Grand Libreville that the behemoths suffer from the measure, the sector is teeming with signs of all sizes. According to a popular joke in the country, “the first business that a Gabonese thinks of setting up is a bar.” There are therefore several hundred, even more than a thousand bistros or refreshments in the Gabonese capital.
No money, lost inventory, rents and miscellaneous charges
Victims of the measure’s immediate entry into force, these structures suddenly found themselves with stocks, short and long-term payments to suppliers and clueless staff. For example, the restaurant at the Résidence Hôtelière du Phare has a dozen employees, the Wapety pub-restaurant employs a little more than fifteen people while, for night clubs, the VIP Room Libreville deploys more than twenty employees and the Cotton Club fifteen. So many people, the Gabonese in great majority, who find themselves on the sidelines and do not even have, for the most part, the precious tips that allowed them to make ends meet.
The bosses and small promoters are worried about them having no more money and fixed costs to pay, because even when it is temporarily closed a business continues to cost. Not only have the restaurants lost all the food they had in stock by distributing or throwing it away, but there are also rents and miscellaneous charges that they cannot pay with zero cash inflows, a real disaster for the sector. As a result, many expect government action to save this economy. The sector supports many artists and constitutes an important outlet for the only brewer in the country and for many importers of foodstuffs, drinks and various materials, also impacted.
30 to 40% restaurants, bars and clubs could disappear
If, as of April 28, work can resume from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Grand Libreville, only a few restaurants will be able to deploy a catering or take-out service, with the discos, bars and neighborhood bars remaining on the sidelines. In the meantime, many want a helping hand from the public authorities. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Economy and Finance has set up Urgent Business Financing (FUE) affected by the Coronavirus. The mechanism should “cover the emergency cash flow needs of eligible companies that are committed to preserving the job pool,” said a statement from the ministry. It should mainly cover “salary costs”, “rents” and “electricity”. But, in reality, it will be “credits granted at the subsidized rate including tax of 5.5% maximum”, according to a clarification from the administration.
Medium-sized hotels, restaurants, bars and night clubs fit very well into this category, since the system concerns SMEs, SMIs, VSEs and TPIs, regularly formed, up to date with their tax and social obligations, achieving a turnover excluding taxes less than or equal to three billion CFA francs and with less than 200 employees. Applicants should contact their usual banks, which will forward the file with a reasoned opinion to the office of the Minister of Economy and Finance. The road is long, knowing the heavy and viscous administration of Gabon. Many entrepreneurs have already complained about this.
