An open letter to Mr. Ramaphosa

The petrol attendant’s smile spills over his face and warms the brisk 5am air. His smile somehow wider than last week? My imagination, or are my fellow road users more disciplined on the highway around me than what they were last Friday?

It is Monday morning 19 February 2018, Gauteng, South Africa. As I drive, I measure my own mind-set and level of optimism and yes, everything has changed! During the past weekend I engaged in many conversations in which the SONA address was analysed. More than once I heard: How can the man hope to accomplish all that? But the man does not have to.

Mr President, all you needed to do was give the decent virtuous South Africans, that in spite of the last 9 years still believe in the New South Africa as envisioned in 1994, a unified agenda on which they can hang all of their individual efforts.

By making us feel that our efforts towards growth and constructive engagement will not be in vain, you will harness inconceivable energy and commitment. As business owners, mothers and fathers, teachers, nurses and policeman all align their efforts towards building a South Africa of which we can again be proud, we will regain the momentum that carried us through those initial heady years!

It will not be easy, but then, it was not easy the first time. In many ways we now have an even steeper mountain to climb. I for one cannot wait to engage with our communal journey to an even better New South Africa! If we ensure that the lessons learnt inside our borders as well as in neighbouring states all form part of our renewed efforts towards building a unified future, ordinary South Africans will not disappoint you.

Thank you, Mr. Ramaphosa, for giving South Africans of all walks of life a new ideal to rally behind. All you need to do is show us that our positive inputs will yield positive results and never again disappear into the cesspool of corruption, and we, the people will build the new South Africa that is our common goal!