Have you ever wondered what a well-functioning, people-serving and selfless government of South Africa would look like?
We have seen the perfect example of an organisation which would be just that — if only it were in politics. It’s not in the form of the DA, EFF, ActionSA or any other party in parliament, but rather in the aid organisation, Gift of the Givers, led by Dr Imtiaz Sooliman.
This week, as South Africans await the state of the nation address, we wish President Cyril Ramaphosa and his cabinet would take a page from the book of the Gift of the Givers.
Just a few years ago, Ramaphosa borrowed from the late jazz great Hugh Masekela and quoted the lyrics to his song — thuma mina (send me) — in parliament, offering himself as a worthy messiah who would potentially forge ahead and clean up the mess this country is in. Sadly, Ramaphosa is yet to deliver on many of these messes — electricity, water, infrastructure, roads, medical care and even our education system.
With a bleak picture painted of the true state of our nation, we are grateful for little nuggets of hope that come in the image of the Gift of the Givers and Sooliman.
With a bleak picture painted of the true state of our nation, we are grateful for little nuggets of hope that come in the image of the Gift of the Givers and Sooliman.
This year alone, Sooliman and his team have spent millions to refurbish schools damaged in the KwaZulu-Natal floods that caused havoc last year, built hockey and netball fields for schools, come to the rescue of hospitals struggling with water shortages and helped hundreds of people who lost their shacks in fires.
On Monday, the Gift of the Givers said their teams were in earthquake-ravaged Turkey, providing assistance in whatever way they could — no monetary compensation for their selfless act of service
Isn’t this what government is supposed to be?
It’s sad to think there is nowhere we have sent Ramaphosa so far where he has returned victorious.
So many South Africans live in abject poverty while government pats itself on the back for an RDP house here and there and a R350 social grant which barely fills a shopping basket.
We have heard it all — from taxpayer funds misused and siphoned into the pockets of political bigwigs to tenders and integral projects being given to unqualified, greedy individuals and companies.
As Ramaphosa preps for the state of the nation address, which will seemingly be followed by a cabinet reshuffle, may he truly reflect on the state of the nation, his contribution to the position it finds itself in and consider whether he has picked the best soldiers to fix this nation.
If anything, Mr President gift us with true solutions, gift us — the nation — with realistic goals and plans on how you plan to save us, and stick to them. Our future depends on it.
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