SA needs a common vision

MANY will agree that 2019 was a difficult year. Some of our challenges were self-inflicted.

Take the issue of Eskom as an example. It continues to hinder the government’s efforts to grow an inclusive economy.

Second, there is the issue of gender-based violence which increased last year with minimal effort by lawmakers and law enforcement to confront it head-on. Women and children are not safe in their own country – which is the biggest shame for a proud nation like ours.

It is the beginning of the year, and as usual, the practice of resolving to change a bad habit or a desire to adopt a new regimen or set personal goals is the norm. As a country, we need such a resolution. A common vision which can take us forward in 2020, a vision to unite us again.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has a huge responsibility in 2020 to rally this nation towards one common vision.As we embark on this new decade and a new year, we must have one common vision on which we can focus our energies as a nation.

We need to build a better South Africa for all.

Here are some ideas which I believe the president and his leadership could consider as the vision for this country over the next 10 years.

We can all rally behind these issues and come up with ideas in the different sectors in our nation on how to achieve them.

First, we must commit to ending gender-based violence and the abuse of women and children in the next five years, and all the various sectors must contribute towards this common goal.

Second, we must commit to ending poverty and inequality in our nation.

Third, we must commit to ending all crime in our nation in the next five years, and we must all contribute towards that.

These are just some examples that we can take as our vision and work towards as a country. We are all aware of the many problems, but we must prioritise these issues in particular.

We should all set personal goals. There is something about this annual ritual of new year’s resolutions and personal vision which motivates me. At the core of our New Year’s resolutions is the desire of each one of us to be a better person.

Somehow, it is innate within us to want to be better than what we are today and to have more than what we have.

This says to me that we all know that we are destined to be greater than we are. All we need is the discipline to keep to the resolutions and the vision we set for ourselves and to follow them up with the requisite action.

For example, you can’t lose those kilos if you overeat and don’t exercise.

New Year’s resolutions and personal goals are also about second chances. We all deserve one.

Some of last year’s resolutions and visions might not have materialised, but we have another opportunity this year to try and make it work.

I am positive and filled with hope that this year will be better for South Africa than in 2019. Let us have great expectations and work together to ensure it is.

As a nation, we must never lose hope that our economy will grow, more jobs will be created, corruption will be rooted out, and our government will do things better this year

Wishing you and our country a blessed and prosperous 2020!