Dear Mr. President,
From this month, my staff are without work. I need to explain to them and I am trying to join the dots. I have operated a small business and been self-employed for many years, ticking two boxes that your Government deems important; an entrepreneur and operating in the tourism sector.
While understanding your decision, those I hear supporting your course of action are from one of 4 categories:
1) Leaders of big corporates; larges salaries, personal wealth and the ability to move on to the next corporate venture, or their employees (for now)
2) Influencers and or high-profile media people, avoiding controversy for obvious reasons
3) Independently wealthy people who can hunker down for years if necessary and of course
4) Government employees.
I have not heard ANY small business owner, or those that live month to month – supporting this move. And by next week, definitely not any. I question what proportionate representation or input you have had from small business owners and the self-employed?
Everything in life is a risk. Mr. President, you would understand from the publicly-known information about you, be it political, corporate and dare I say, a personally what it means to take a risk.
To really understand our plight, may I suggest your entire Government, from Ministers, down - across all cities and municipalities, all have a major pay cut? Particularly if not essential service provider employees? You impose demands and restrictions on the very people that pay you, only for them, as a consequence of your decision to lose their income. Yet - Government employees are merely being inconvenienced at this time - all being paid. When, not a case of if, your Government needs more money, to keep paying the salaries – you will simply go and indebt the entire country to accomplish this. There is no tangible and immediate downside for a civil servant.
For us small businesses – our livelihoods are gone.
There simply cannot be empathy, when you are not experiencing the pain we are. The course of treatment is turning out to be far worse than the illness itself. Medically speaking; scientists’ predictions and government’s practitioners to whom you defer, simply deliver this - PREDICTIONS.
1. If scientists are indeed proven correct.
2. If the virus was so contagious.
3. If our underlying health conditions were going to worsen the mortality rate.
4. If the medical facilities could not cope.
If, these four ‘ifs’ become a ‘when’, ONLY then Mr. President, do we have a problem.
Four ‘ifs’ against a 100% dead certain economic AND long-term human catastrophe. I would suggest, ask the people and do a snap poll. Does your Government believe it is a) more knowledgeable b) certain and c) ready to disregard the will of the people?
I know all my staff losing their livelihood, including myself, would way prefer to run the risk of 4 ‘ifs.’
From where we are now, there will a major human cost; - suicides, domestic violence, grand theft, murder in the pursuit of theft, and petty looting – as a direct result of this lock down. But how bad and how many? It won’t AND can’t ever be accurately accounted for.
While deferring doomsday, as the Government has done so deftly for decades on other major matters, your rationale is centered on the prevention of death and treasuring life. 75 deaths to date was what you mentioned. Removing emotion, we lost 44 healthy young men, on the verge of delivering economic value to the nation, through botched circumcision rituals, in just one year! This happens every year Sir. We lose 25 lives at a time, and more, regularly in bus accidents. Taxis; overloaded, driven by unlicensed ‘drivers’ or unroadworthy - slaughter dozens of innocent lives, weekly! Operators do not lose licenses. Police take bribes and the hapless, helpless passengers have no choice. 17 000 deaths on the roads annually. So I am confused why we’re deploying the military only now, after 26 years, to assist with this particular national crisis.
At around 20 000 murders a year, was this not sufficient reason to act earlier? Crime is the number one reason foreign long-haul visitors avoid visiting South Africa. Given what we offer – this should be a major, global destination. I am struggling here with the thinking. Perhaps the business of crime, and the sectors linked to them are just too important for the Government to ignore. I don’t know.
Mr. President, you emphasize, in great detail the 185 000 deaths from this virus in your speech to the Nation. It sounds a lot. A significant percentage, plus 70 000 were from Europe and USA – who represent more than 20% of South Africa’s trade. With 18% of the world’s population, China has had less than 5 000 deaths, despite being the launch pad of this pandemic. Furthermore, despite China contributing 11% of our trade, there is no attention drawn to specific numbers, but rather broad fear mongering numbers. But it is the extraordinary attention and praise for China that does not stack up?
So, in conclusion, I will only ask of you just one question.
As Chief architect of our constitution, containing all that it stands for; how can you personally align yourself with a country like China’s leadership? You were sworn in to uphold and defend our South African constitution. China’s values, principles and everything about how they run the country, is diametrically opposed with South Africa’s. Or is it? Perhaps you are happy to cast your values and our constitution aside in the interest of something much greater. If it’s money, perhaps the 59million South Africans are unaware, but they should be, that you personally have a lot of it. US $450 million, according to references.
So, while things are not 100% clear, this is hard to explain. Perhaps there is a greater agenda that we don’t all understand.
Mr. President, we have a country in utter and total distress and it’s not even month end!
We need a simple clear road to recovery, one that we can all understand and accept, despite the risks. I chose the picture, because I believe your home is at the foot of this mountain!
Let’s bring back the economy.
God bless South Africa!
Sincerely,
Richard Lendrum
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