An open letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa

Dear Mr President

We know you have so much on your plate, and that you have tried to look after the people of the country as if they are your own children. We are so thankful for the way you have led our country.

However, there is an act that requires immediate execution, an entrepreneurial flair, and a passion and vision last seen in 1994 when we extricated the country out from under the oppressors and fought for a free and fair South Africa.

We have another moment that beckons like that, Mr President. We need to distribute the vaccine in record time.

In 1994, ballots reached every city and farm, rural settlement, kraal, or pondokkie. We stood together, patiently, in queues that snaked around streets and hills. We opened schools, churches, each and every available building and space. It was an astonishing achievement.

We are ready to do the same.

We cannot be dismissed from the world’s attention as a poorer country. We are the homeland from which Nelson Mandela become an icon for good across the globe. We are the Rainbow Nation that rises again and again from the darkest storm clouds.

We know you know all this. But it’s time to tell you what perhaps you didn’t know: you aren’t alone. The government isn’t alone.

I’m not a spokesperson for any group, nor do I hold any significant office. Moreover, I’m aware that the big issues of sourcing and financing the vaccine stand as critical challenges. However, I have no doubt that within the magnitude of the task, we, the people of South Africa, stand ready. We want to help in any way we can. We offer our services. We’re ready to take action.

Practically, it would be my greatest honour and privilege to assist through my organisation in the following areas:

1.    Any administrative support;

2.    Accounting and booking assistance;

3.    The provision of call-centre infrastructure, including staffing; and

4.    Any “menial” task to free up time for the experts/specialists.

We are willing to do whatever it takes to bring South Africa to safety. Whether it’s the big-picture logistical and administrative tasks, offering the use of communal spaces, or the smallest of gestures of gratitude to frontline health workers.

I have no doubt that we can assist, and that our willingness to do so is pervasive. Our diversity here is truly our greatest strength, for together, we can offer every imaginable skill needed.

We did it in 1994. We can do it again.

We are your army of volunteers.

Thuma mina – send me.

May G-d bless you, your family, and all the people of South Africa. – Benjy Porter, Johannesburg