There are a billion tasks for you to do, Mr President, and the reality is that they cannot be achieved in a day. Some of us are grateful, though not 100percent, that many changes have come and hopefully more will come.

I wish that things could change overnight but know it cannot happen. We should first build a foundation before we put a roof on the house.

The proposal by business and opposition parties to declare crime a national priority is positive. But the government will not be able to fight crime successfully unless all the past imbalances are adequately dealt with. So ask yourselves:

l Is crime due to poverty or something else?

l How can we reduce poverty, create jobs and lessen crime?

l Can we share what we have with those who don't?

l Many of us earn enough to educate a child or feed a family once in a year, but do we?

If we ignore these issues, crime will soar further. Let's all help. If one well-to-do South African empowers another not-well-to-do South African, we will all live in peace.

Puledi Shoba, by e-mail