An Open Letter to the President of the Republic of South Africa

Dear Mr President,

As a concerned resident of this beautiful country, I can no longer limit expressing my frustration to social media alone.

Creating change and continuously evaluating situations with fresh eyes is what good leaders are about. If there is also a willingness to listen to the concern of those they lead, followed by the necessary action to remedy bad situations, their leadership tends to greatness.

Unfortunately, this is not what we are experiencing in South Africa. Promising that the line drawn in the sand will compel government officials and ANC party members to either step aside until their names are cleared or losing their position if proven guilty, yet not following through, makes every governmental promise a mockery.

By continuing on the present trajectory, there is a real danger that SA will experience its own (Arab) spring. People are desperate and violence is often the language of those who have lost hope.

The lack of openness by government is a further step in alienating us, the citizens.

Just two examples: At the beginning of the pandemic, many of us believed that the government under your leadership was taking the right actions. This was quickly followed by disappointment. We can ignore the banal pettiness such as the furore over essential clothing and similar nonsense, but many measures were implemented without first creating an understanding for the why. Buy in is more easily obtained if the measures are first explained, so that they make sense to those affected. The security forces knocking doors down, beating people, some to death destroys the little trust that may have existed. Turning hundreds of thousand into criminals for minor infringements speaks of a heavy handedness unbecoming of a democracy.

The second example is the rescue of SAA. There has not been a single logical explanation why an airline that has already cost billions and will cost many more, should be kept alive. The mind boggles when considering that these billions subsidise the wealthy at the expense of the poor. We take human beings of support systems if healing is no longer possible, why should this not apply to a broken organisation too?

Just imagine if those R 10 Billion would have been given at R 100,000 each to 100,000 smallholder farmers, what a difference this would have made to them and the country.

But I am afraid that many of our representatives in government, in whom we are expected to place our trust, are living in their own comfortable bubble far removed from the reality as experienced by ordinary citizens. They may or may not know what is going on on the ground, but tragically they don’t care as proven by the disgusting corruption during the pandemic.

South Africa is potentially one of the most exciting countries on the planet. Its vibrant African culture interwoven with cultures from different corners of the planet gives it a character and energy that makes it standout.

The beauty of its wide open spaces, its scenic contrast and the diversity of its population together with vast natural resources offer the potential of building a bright and prosperous future for all.

But building, or in our case, re-building the country is an inclusive process and requires the input of all those who will carry out the actual work. It is for that reason that I suggest to you, Mr President, to create a circle of concerned citizens who have the knowledge of what is happening and who have the courage to share this openly with you. Such a circle will have to include representatives of the marginalised part of the population as well as young people and those with experience and who are capable of evaluating situations from various perspectives

Sincerely yours,

Hermann Funk