Letter: Now much rests upon us

My, how the pendulum has swung.

And so, a new era possibly begins and both black and white peoples hold their collective breaths and pray and hope that the interests of all will be served in a necessary and understandable order of priority.

They hope for better managed institutions, joint growth ventures comprised of managers of all colours based on expertise and experience and the will to prosper through common purpose and with common passion – diligently and honestly.

They hope for a strong and robust economy providing employment that financially uplifts, educates, liberates and unites all in the workplace and in homes and communities. They hope for a just and equal society where no one is seen to be more white or more black or more important than another.

And they hold their breath and pray for a patriotic leader with the courage to lead in a moral, responsible and diligent manner.

A leader devoid of political and egocentric considerations, a man placing a nation first, capable of standing his ground for all the correct, responsible and ethical reasons.

An honest leader seeped in compassion and understanding for the downtrodden, filled with a humility learned through humiliation – and filled only with an anger that resists the obsessive greed of the wealthy and turns over the tables of the money lenders and selfish barterers in the synagogues of life.

We the people long for the disappearance of the blue light motorcades, the ostentatious flaunting of designer clothing and opulent lifestyles of those in parliament and government institutions whose job it is to serve and not strut like peacocks in the face of the poor.

The great majority long for the end of poverty and endless drudgery and the return of pride and self-worth.

We all long for opposition parties that do not place egos or goals laced with self-interest above national interests. We long for pride in the workplace when a service is offered or when a job of work is done and we long for mutual respect across colour lines and cultures.

We desperately long for a crime free society in all walks of life and an end to festering corruption.

We applaud those architects (not least our new leader) of a face-saving constitution, a brave independent judiciary, a robust media and courageous Chapter 9 institutions without whom we would not have reached this turning point.

And then hopefully we all realise that one leader cannot achieve all we want for our country for it is a national responsibility. So, much now rests upon those of us who, on both sides of the spectrum, were silent over these last six decades and, after deep introspection, will ponder on how personally we go about mending our country based on the lessons we have learned.

At this time in our history, without being melodramatic, how significant then for us are the words of John F Kennedy during his inaugural speech to his nation – ‘Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country’. May we all, especially the black and white privileged classes, ponder on this.

As for me, may God now richly bless this new servant leader and his chosen servant leaders – and especially this ‘new’ nation of South Africa.

Rule wisely Cyril Ramaphosa – hamba gahle.

CLIFF HATT

Zinkwazi