President Cyril Ramaphosa
Image: Esa Alexander
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An open letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa:

The year was 1994 when you were outmaneuvered

by Thabo Mbeki to the position you currently occupy.

Your loss to Mbeki resulted in you not attending Nelson Mandela's inauguration on May 10 1994.

You subsequently decided to go into business, as history would have it, and became a billionaire you are today.

We all know the role played by white monopoly capital in turning you into a billionaire. We know how you became infamous for bidding for a R22m buffalo and subsequently backtracking at the outcry of South Africans, who decried the amount of money you intended to spend on an animal in the face of such glaring poverty in our country.

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We know how in 2012 you called for action to be taken against coal miners in Marikana who were on strike for better wages and how your call led to the deaths of many striking miners.

You have since ascended to the position Mbeki beat you to in 1994.

With all the experiences you now have as a businessman, with the benefit of how you have seen Mandela's presidency unfold and give away so much power to our yesteryear oppressors, how Mbeki's presidency unfolded and turned him into aloof and arrogant president, how Jacob Zuma became the father of corruption the moment he ascended to the position you currently occupy, you now have a golden opportunity to learn from those unfortunate deeds by your predecessors and do things differently.

Firstly, you need to stop talking in forked tongues on issues that directly affect the people who turned you into a billionaire. Secondly, you need to get your ministers to spend less time in their offices and more time on the ground with the people who voted them into office.

Thirdly, may you ensure that the Motsepe family does not become the new Guptas. Lastly, please make sure that the millions that are being spent on the Zondo commission result in prosecutions of those who defrauded the citizens of this country.

Bafana Dinga Mabunda, Johannesburg

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