Dear Mr President,
Reading a South African newspaper nowadays has become quite a depressing affair. Our newspapers are riddled with stories of brutal rape, murder, cash in transit heists, burning down of infrastructure, patients dying in government hospitals and let’s not forget stories of corruption. In simple English, stories about how government and members of your cabinet steal my hard earned money in order to live a life of super luxury. The day you became president of the Republic of South Africa, I was elated. In fact there was a feeling of euphoria and hope. Finally, we have a president who is educated and will be able to make decisions in the interest of his citizens. A few months later, that euphoria has died and we have very quickly come to learn that you Mr Ramaphosa are no better than your predecessor, Mr. Jacob ‘showerhead” Zuma. Within a short space of time you have made the lives of fellow South Africans a living hell through the intermittent rise of petrol prices that of course creates a ripple effect, thereby increasing prices of basic necessities like food. When you took your oath as a president, I was hoping that you will do the right thing. I was hoping that you will fire the entire cabinet especially those individuals who have stolen tax payer’s money through elaborate well thought through schemes. I was under the impression that the corrupt will now have their day in court and possibly remain in a jail for many years to come. Alas, I was wrong. Then I realised how the ANC function. An organization that fought for a particular course has now become a mafia organization that has turned South Africa into a rogue state. You were unable to get rid of the corrupt individuals in government simply because all ANC members have skeletons in their closets. All members have something to hide. So you all cover up for each other and simply prevent the ‘secrets’ from emerging by employing your buddies in key positions of power. Give them a post, let them earn a fat cat salary and they will keep their mouths shut. Politics is after all a dirty game Mr. President. A friend today is your foe tomorrow.
As a young South African I watched the transition in 1994 on television as it unfolded. It was a historical moment. I was a part of history. However, as the years went by I started noticing this country regressing. Each time I visited abroad I realized just how backward we were becoming in all aspects of governance. SAA was one of the best airlines in the world not too long ago. Our economy use to be the best in Africa. Under the auspices of the ANC, a world class country has turned into an absolute ‘shithole’. Believe you me, I am not a fan of Mr Trump, but he certainly does have a point. Since the ANC lacks vision and foresight as to how a country should be run, I have decided to put forward a guideline titled “From a Banana Republic to a super power” If I was the president of South Africa, this is how I would implement positive changes in this country.
1. I would fire the entire cabinet with immediate effect. No one needs to have uneducated parasites sitting in government eating the tax payers hard earned money. At present we have individuals sitting in parliament with no formal education. Are these the role models we want for our youth? I don’t think so. I would appoint well educated individuals with credibility. In other words people who are experts in their fields. I will reduce the salaries of all government members including my own as president. Except for ministers all other members will pay for their own transport and flights. They will all reside in their own homes. Splashing out R26 million on ministers houses will be a thing of the past. The blue light brigade will be a thing of the past and expenditure on VIP bodyguards will be reduced. You see Mr. President when a person has nothing to hide, when a person is loved and respected by the public at large there is no need to walk around with numerous bodyguards in tow. Credit must be given where due and hence walking with the public in the morning to encourage good health is quite a fantastic idea. Taking a flight on SAA with ordinary South Africans was a brilliant publicity stunt. If only this could be the norm. The South African flag represents a rainbow nation and hence there will be equal representation in parliament taking into consideration all communities. (Whites, Blacks, Indians, Coloureds..all communities). All parliamentarians must have some form of education. At least a bachelors degree. Without a qualification you will not be allowed to be a member of parliament.
2. The borders will be shut with professionally trained military personnel. Anyone wanting to enter SA will do so with proper documentation. You will be allowed to reside here if you are educated and add value to the country or if you are a business person willing to invest money in this country. At present we have a huge problem Mr. President. Anyone is allowed to cross our borders due to CORRUPTION. Many illegal immigrants are involved in criminal activities. The government needs to have a specialized police force dealing with getting rid of illegal immigrants. All foreigners residing here using the resources of the country will be forced to pay taxes. At present a small percentage of South Africans are paying taxes supporting millions who are not paying taxes at all.
3. The death penalty will be reinstated for murder, rape, drug and human trafficking and corruption. I noticed that China is one your biggest allies. Whilst your organization chooses to learn the policies of Communism from China, please take note that China's policy with regards to corruption is the death penalty. Execute a few corrupt ministers and I am pretty sure many will be afraid to steal from public funds. Let’s go through this scenario Mr President. I work 13 hours a day, 7 days a week to make sure that I am able to pay off my staff and suppliers at month end. I also need to pay SARS every second month. Money goes into treasury and is then distributed to other departments to improve my lifestyle and the lives of other South Africans. But this is not what’s happening. The elite members within government are taking my money that I worked for and using it to lead lives of luxury. In essence we are all working to make people in government rich. THIS NEEDS TO STOP. Corrupt ministers should be executed.
4. Our education system has crumbled post 1994. I am of the opinion that it is now worse than Bantu education. Students now need 30 percent to pass mathematics. This is an absolute joke. In fact it’s quite scary. What kind of professionals is this country going to be producing? A time will come when a degree obtained from South Africa will no longer be recognised abroad. We have serious issues and flaws in our education system. Schools that were built to cater for 650 students are now catering for 1200 students. In some schools not all children have received text books due to this issue. In 2018, kids are still dying as a result of utilizing pit toilets. It’s absolutely disgusting. This is a direct result of CORRUPTION. I could be wrong, but I am pretty sure Mr President that you knew about the ongoing corruption when you were the deputy president of this country. But you did nothing about it. Money that was allocated to build schools has been siphoned off into the personal banking accounts of those who were entrusted to empower the youth through education. Does it not bother you Mr President that whilst your family is educated and leads a life of luxury, there are kids out there who cannot read or write yet they too have dreams.How do you go to bed Mr President,knowing that there are kids in your country who are homeless going to bed on an empty stomach. Education is the back bone of a strong nation. In order for a country to succeed on a global scale we need to place more emphasis on education. More money needs to be allocated towards education. However, the ANC will not do that simply because an educated nation is an empowered nation. It’s much easier controlling sheep like individuals with no education, in other words people who are consistently dependent on the state. Hence taking out the race card which is now an old, stale out dated concept will still work well in terms of instigating the masses. Unfortunately it will not appeal to an educated person. Own up and admit that the ANC have failed miserably in terms of running this country. Admit that the ANC have failed the nation. Own up to the mistakes rather than blaming apartheid. I think 100 years will pass by and the ANC will still continue to blame the apartheid regime. The minister of education should be a person who is an expert in child education. Send a team abroad to see different schooling models from around the world, like Finland or Korea for example. Implement world class strategies here in our country. The idea is to have the best in the field managing a portfolio, rather than the idiotic uneducated buffoons we see managing important government departments.
5. Our water and sanitation department is in a shambles. Does it not bother you Mr President that the Vaal river is over flowing with sewage which will result in the death of fish and ultimately cause illness to those who consume the water. Again, our infrastructure is not maintained due to the CORRUPTION. All over the city there are water leaks. This in turn impacts negatively on our dam levels. Your municipalities are bankrupt. There is no money to do maintenance work simply because the ANC are a bunch of thieves. If you are a thief you will prosper within the ANC. Instead of firing the former minister of sanitation, she gets re-appointed to manage another portfolio. It’s like taking a surgeon who botched up a patients operation, and telling him, no problem, operate on another patient and kill him too. I have never come across a more stupid, more ignorant government decision making team. In a quest to cover up the theft, and of course to obtain more votes, the best interest of the country has always been sacrificed. Our water systems should be handled by engineers who are experienced in their fields. Water desalination plants should have been constructed a long time ago. Then again the ANC is all about destruction rather than construction
6. The ANC have failed miserably in terms of protecting the citizens of this country. We rank as one of the most dangerous countries in the world. This is expected considering the fact that many of our police have criminal records. A country riddled with high crime rates will definitely have a negative impact on the tourism industry. I will be blatantly honest in saying that I do not encourage my friends abroad to visit South Africa simply because I cannot guarantee their safety. Our police are inadequately trained to handle complex situations. In our suburb the police openly in broad day light receive bribes from notorious drug lords. Drugs that are confiscated by the police makes it way back onto the streets with the police benefiting from these illegal activities. CORRUPTION within the police force seems to rear its ugly head all the time with important dockets and documentation going missing. Our men in uniform, teachers and medical personnel should be well paid as these individuals carry a huge responsibility in terms of making the country a world class nation. In SA the ministers who sit on their asses doing sweet bugger all expect 5 and 6 figure salaries whilst the civil servants are paid menially. The citizens should reside in fear whilst the ministers and you, Mr President walk around with many bodyguards in tow. Our men in uniform lack education. Many cannot read and write. In simple terms, there is nothing to be proud about being the president of a banana republic. Only in South Africa do police stations get robbed and only in South Africa do police stations have car guards to protect vehicles. Policemen with criminal records should not be allowed to be a part of the police force.
7. Our roads are in an absolute sad state of affairs. Many people are dying on our roads due to potholes. Alas, this does not bother you Mr President for as long as you and your family reside in luxury nothing else and no one else matters. But it does matter. The day you became President of this country, you became the father of the nation. Not just the father to your own kids. Once again let’s not forget about the high levels of CORRUPTION within our licensing departments. Driver’s licences are being sold to people who have no idea how to drive. Let’s not even talk about the mafia taxi industry responsible for the death of thousands of people every year. Many of the taxis are not road worthy and neither do many of the drivers have proper licences. How can a government allow a group of thugs to transport citizens on a daily basis. If I were the president I’d shut down the taxi industry. Gautrain must be expanded to all parts of the city. A metro –rail system should be built linking all towns on the outskirts to the inner city. We can improve on our railway and bus system. Proper metered cabs that we see in other parts of the world should be introduced into the transport sector. All cargo from the coast should be transported inland via trains. In this way, we will be able to curb road damage on our national highways by trucks and tankers. Once proper infrastructure is in place we should then prevent cars from driving into the inner city. We should force people to use public transport thereby saving our fuel reserves.
8. Isn’t it ironical Mr President that you and your family utilize private health care facilities whilst the citizens of the county who have no access to private health care are forced to use pathetic government hospitals that do not have basic medication. A friend of mine died waiting to get an emergency bypass done. He was placed on a long waiting list. Let’s not even talk about the oncology patients. It makes my blood boil. Once again due to mass looting and CORRUPTION, there is no money to provide SA citizens with proper medical care. Never mind the patients, there is no money to pay intern doctors. If I were in charge of the country, all government employees would utilize government hospitals only. Maybe then those in charge will think twice before stealing and looting from the state coffers.
9. The topic of land reform is undoubtedly the biggest joke of the century and of course a way of gaining votes for the ANC. The ANC might be smiling now but trust me the White Afrikaaner farmer will be having the last laugh. He will be welcomed with open arms in other countries who will subsidize them without a doubt. Agriculture is a major component and factor when it comes to economic growth and prosperity. As a person who travels extensively I am sure you must have seen farming models of other first world countries to realise just how important farming and agriculture is to the central development of the country. In very simple terms, your own people will land up suffering. If you want the land back, that’s great. Pay the farmers the market value of the farms. If the farmer is paying off a bond, will the government continue to make those bond payments to the bank? The government is in possession of thousands of hectares of land. Why hasn’t this land been distributed to the people as yet? The Zulu king owns hectares of land that he generates an income from. Why isn’t that land given to the people? You see Mr President, it’s very easy to fool people who are illiterate but you won’t be able to fool the wise and learned. I am not sure if you aware of this fact, but your country is experiencing a brain drain. Every day educated and skilled South African citizens are leaving this country due to the economic and political instability. It’s very easy taking away the farms but if you give it to people who have no idea how to administrate a commercial farm, you are achieving sweet bugger all. Being a farmer is not about having land and tools. It involves knowledge and skill. The government should have encouraged the White Afrikaaner farmer to take all the empty spaces of land and farm increasing yields for export. A partnership of some sought could have been put into place between the farmer and the local indigenous community. Perhaps a profit sharing model could have been implemented. Other countries are hungry to take in people of skill. Here in SA we are driving people of skill away.
10. The ANC has done nothing apart from mass looting in all sectors of government. I would be ashamed to be a part of an organization that has stolen billions at the expense of the poor. So the mere fact that you went abroad and brought in loans from China and the Middle East is nothing to be proud about. I wonder how much of that money will be used profitably and effectively to benefit the people of SA and how much of that money will be siphoned off into personal banking accounts? SA is bankrupt and will never be able to repay the debt. The only way you can solve the issues of this country is running this country with an iron fist. Those who have stolen should be imprisoned for long periods of time and the stolen money should be returned to the state coffers. In simple terms you need to do a full cleanup operation. You need to strengthen and expand the manufacturing sector in this country. More manufacturing plants are required to employ more people. The Chinese must be told that if they wish to do business in this country they need to employ South African citizens. The reason why this country has high fuel prices is due to CORRUPTION AND MASS LOOTING... The only way the government can now scratch for money is through increased fuel levies.
By now you must have realized Mr President that the root problem in your country is the ANC and the deeply rooted CORRUPTION within the ANC. You have 2 choices Mr President, man up and run this country the way it should be run leaving a legacy behind for generations to come or Mr.President go down in the history books as “Mr. Ramaphosa, a spineless president”
