The speech delivered by President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa on May 25 was not only a political statement, but a blueprint for SA's modus operandi that would require the appointed cabinet ministers to keep shoulders to the wheel in ensuring that the dream of a New Dawn is realised.

I felt like jumping out of my skin with excitement when Ramaphosa talked about "the irrefutable power of the ballot".

My understanding is that he was impressing upon citizens' minds the fact that the power or right to vote should be exercised carefully and responsibly as it determines our fate.

What can also be drawn from the speech is that in Ramaphosa, SA is in the hands of a humble president since he made explicit his belief in "the fundamental human principle" of motho ke motho ka batho ba bangwe.

This principle promotes communal way of life. It also teaches us that no man is an island, and I hope the president will live by that adage.

When he warned us of things "which threaten to imperil our future", what came quickly to my mind was state capture, inequality, poverty, unemployment, greed, arrogance and inability to listen to the electorate.

All these threats should be tackled head-on by the president; deputy president, ministers, premiers, MECs, councillors and public servants in general.

Paul Thabo Makokoe, Vista Park, Bloemfontein