{"id":164608,"date":"2023-01-17T08:29:35","date_gmt":"2023-01-17T08:29:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/za\/2023\/01\/17\/dear-mr-president-let-there-be-light\/"},"modified":"2023-01-17T08:29:35","modified_gmt":"2023-01-17T08:29:35","slug":"dear-mr-president-let-there-be-light","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/za\/2023\/01\/17\/dear-mr-president-let-there-be-light\/","title":{"rendered":"Dear Mr President, let there be light"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

By Jodene Louw-Masebe<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dear Mr President<\/p>\n

Salutations to you from a young South African woman who was elated when you first took on this role. However, please don\u2019t assume that that statement means I support the political party you represent.<\/p>\n

I happen to be the great-grandchild of the late Communist leader, JB Marks, and I often ponder how the Struggle icons must be turning in their final resting places. I have many grievances but the one I bring to you today is the infamous load shedding plaguing our nation. <\/p>\n

Do you find yourself in the uncomfortable position of having an infant for whom you cannot boil water to make a bottle? Do you find yourself in the position of sitting at you desk and then remembering: \u201cI didn\u2019t plug in the LED lights (to charge), and this curse of load shedding would have struck by the time I reach home\u201d? Do you find yourself not having food readily available in your fridge and having to create a food contingency budget, one which many of us cannot afford?<\/p>\n

!function(e,t,r){let n;if(e.getElementById(r))return;const a=e.getElementsByTagName(“script”)[0];n=e.createElement(“script”),n.id=r,n.defer=!0,n.src=”https:\/\/playback.oovvuu.media\/player\/v1.js”,a.parentNode.insertBefore(n,a)}(document,0,”oovvuu-player-sdk”);<\/p>\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

I\u2019ll tell you in which position we see \u201cleadership\u201d, one which has to have at least two additional cars \u2013 luxury cars \u2013 escorting them from pillar to post. And this while rural schools have neither running water nor adequate ablution facilities. I\u2019m saddened by the fact that the people of this country trusted your political party and no good has come from the misplaced leap of faith. Instead, we find ourselves suffering! I\u2019m tempted to say more than before, but I\u2019d be lying, as the apartheid struggles did not directly impact me as a \u201990s baby.<\/p>\n

Do you even know how the load shedding schedule works? My husband reminded me a few days ago, that the ANC is the \u201cPeople\u2019s Party\u201d so no one can be fired. I thought: \u201cBesides themselves, which people are they serving?\u201d Due to my frustration, my articulation might be flawed, but we need a solution to the many ills facing our people. Maybe the solution is titled: \u201cChange\u201d.<\/p>\n

But the next question is, change moving on to whom? See the peculiar situation in which we find ourselves? It is unsettling to say the least but a change is needed.<\/p>\n

#LetThereBeLight!<\/p>\n

* The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of or Independent Media.<\/em><\/p>\n

** JOIN THE CONVERSATION: Email your submissions to iolletters@inl.co.za and be sure to include a short bio, as well as your contact details and physical address (not for publication).<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Jodene Louw-Masebe Dear Mr President Salutations to you from a young South African woman who was elated when you first took on this role. However, please don\u2019t assume that that statement means I support the political party you represent. I happen to be the great-grandchild of the late Communist leader, JB Marks, and I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[9585,436,1038],"class_list":["post-164608","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-politics","tag-dear","tag-light","tag-president"],"yoast_head":"\nDear Mr President, let there be light - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/za\/2023\/01\/17\/dear-mr-president-let-there-be-light\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dear Mr President, let there be light - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Jodene Louw-Masebe Dear Mr President Salutations to you from a young South African woman who was elated when you first took on this role. However, please don\u2019t assume that that statement means I support the political party you represent. I happen to be the great-grandchild of the late Communist leader, JB Marks, and I […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/za\/2023\/01\/17\/dear-mr-president-let-there-be-light\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-01-17T08:29:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/image-prod.iol.co.za\/16x9\/800?source=https:\/\/xlibris.public.prod.oc.inl.infomaker.io:8443\/opencontent\/objects\/62bbf267-567e-5f39-9796-85800e17e639&operation=CROP&offset=0x415&resize=4000x2252\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"SouthAfrica News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"SouthAfrica News\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/za\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/17\\\/dear-mr-president-let-there-be-light\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/za\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/17\\\/dear-mr-president-let-there-be-light\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"SouthAfrica News\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/za\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/53d06a757a4242f113d200e3c290c036\"},\"headline\":\"Dear Mr President, let there be light\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-01-17T08:29:35+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/za\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/17\\\/dear-mr-president-let-there-be-light\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":470,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/za\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/17\\\/dear-mr-president-let-there-be-light\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/image-prod.iol.co.za\\\/16x9\\\/800?source=https:\\\/\\\/xlibris.public.prod.oc.inl.infomaker.io:8443\\\/opencontent\\\/objects\\\/62bbf267-567e-5f39-9796-85800e17e639&operation=CROP&offset=0x415&resize=4000x2252\",\"keywords\":[\"Dear\",\"light\",\"President\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Politics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/za\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/17\\\/dear-mr-president-let-there-be-light\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/za\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/17\\\/dear-mr-president-let-there-be-light\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/za\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/17\\\/dear-mr-president-let-there-be-light\\\/\",\"name\":\"Dear Mr President, let there be light - Ghanamma.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/za\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/za\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/17\\\/dear-mr-president-let-there-be-light\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/za\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/17\\\/dear-mr-president-let-there-be-light\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/image-prod.iol.co.za\\\/16x9\\\/800?source=https:\\\/\\\/xlibris.public.prod.oc.inl.infomaker.io:8443\\\/opencontent\\\/objects\\\/62bbf267-567e-5f39-9796-85800e17e639&operation=CROP&offset=0x415&resize=4000x2252\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-01-17T08:29:35+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/za\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/53d06a757a4242f113d200e3c290c036\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/za\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/17\\\/dear-mr-president-let-there-be-light\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/za\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/17\\\/dear-mr-president-let-there-be-light\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/za\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/17\\\/dear-mr-president-let-there-be-light\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/image-prod.iol.co.za\\\/16x9\\\/800?source=https:\\\/\\\/xlibris.public.prod.oc.inl.infomaker.io:8443\\\/opencontent\\\/objects\\\/62bbf267-567e-5f39-9796-85800e17e639&operation=CROP&offset=0x415&resize=4000x2252\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/image-prod.iol.co.za\\\/16x9\\\/800?source=https:\\\/\\\/xlibris.public.prod.oc.inl.infomaker.io:8443\\\/opencontent\\\/objects\\\/62bbf267-567e-5f39-9796-85800e17e639&operation=CROP&offset=0x415&resize=4000x2252\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/za\\\/2023\\\/01\\\/17\\\/dear-mr-president-let-there-be-light\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/za\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Dear Mr President, let there be light\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/za\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/za\\\/\",\"name\":\"Ghanamma.com\",\"description\":\"News In South Africa - Latest South Africa News Headlines\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/za\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/za\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/53d06a757a4242f113d200e3c290c036\",\"name\":\"SouthAfrica News\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/22cb97c2b08df229330efb2b8c2645feaae8d3ca3ee434035fbb668b5b82f570?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/22cb97c2b08df229330efb2b8c2645feaae8d3ca3ee434035fbb668b5b82f570?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/22cb97c2b08df229330efb2b8c2645feaae8d3ca3ee434035fbb668b5b82f570?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"SouthAfrica News\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.ghanamma.com\\\/za\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Dear Mr President, let there be light - Ghanamma.com","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/za\/2023\/01\/17\/dear-mr-president-let-there-be-light\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Dear Mr President, let there be light - Ghanamma.com","og_description":"By Jodene Louw-Masebe Dear Mr President Salutations to you from a young South African woman who was elated when you first took on this role. However, please don\u2019t assume that that statement means I support the political party you represent. I happen to be the great-grandchild of the late Communist leader, JB Marks, and I […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/za\/2023\/01\/17\/dear-mr-president-let-there-be-light\/","og_site_name":"Ghanamma.com","article_published_time":"2023-01-17T08:29:35+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/image-prod.iol.co.za\/16x9\/800?source=https:\/\/xlibris.public.prod.oc.inl.infomaker.io:8443\/opencontent\/objects\/62bbf267-567e-5f39-9796-85800e17e639&operation=CROP&offset=0x415&resize=4000x2252","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"SouthAfrica News","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"SouthAfrica News","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/za\/2023\/01\/17\/dear-mr-president-let-there-be-light\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/za\/2023\/01\/17\/dear-mr-president-let-there-be-light\/"},"author":{"name":"SouthAfrica News","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/za\/#\/schema\/person\/53d06a757a4242f113d200e3c290c036"},"headline":"Dear Mr President, let there be light","datePublished":"2023-01-17T08:29:35+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/za\/2023\/01\/17\/dear-mr-president-let-there-be-light\/"},"wordCount":470,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/za\/2023\/01\/17\/dear-mr-president-let-there-be-light\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/image-prod.iol.co.za\/16x9\/800?source=https:\/\/xlibris.public.prod.oc.inl.infomaker.io:8443\/opencontent\/objects\/62bbf267-567e-5f39-9796-85800e17e639&operation=CROP&offset=0x415&resize=4000x2252","keywords":["Dear","light","President"],"articleSection":["Politics"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/za\/2023\/01\/17\/dear-mr-president-let-there-be-light\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/za\/2023\/01\/17\/dear-mr-president-let-there-be-light\/","url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/za\/2023\/01\/17\/dear-mr-president-let-there-be-light\/","name":"Dear Mr President, let there be light - Ghanamma.com","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/za\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/za\/2023\/01\/17\/dear-mr-president-let-there-be-light\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/za\/2023\/01\/17\/dear-mr-president-let-there-be-light\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/image-prod.iol.co.za\/16x9\/800?source=https:\/\/xlibris.public.prod.oc.inl.infomaker.io:8443\/opencontent\/objects\/62bbf267-567e-5f39-9796-85800e17e639&operation=CROP&offset=0x415&resize=4000x2252","datePublished":"2023-01-17T08:29:35+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/za\/#\/schema\/person\/53d06a757a4242f113d200e3c290c036"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/za\/2023\/01\/17\/dear-mr-president-let-there-be-light\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/za\/2023\/01\/17\/dear-mr-president-let-there-be-light\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/za\/2023\/01\/17\/dear-mr-president-let-there-be-light\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/image-prod.iol.co.za\/16x9\/800?source=https:\/\/xlibris.public.prod.oc.inl.infomaker.io:8443\/opencontent\/objects\/62bbf267-567e-5f39-9796-85800e17e639&operation=CROP&offset=0x415&resize=4000x2252","contentUrl":"https:\/\/image-prod.iol.co.za\/16x9\/800?source=https:\/\/xlibris.public.prod.oc.inl.infomaker.io:8443\/opencontent\/objects\/62bbf267-567e-5f39-9796-85800e17e639&operation=CROP&offset=0x415&resize=4000x2252"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/za\/2023\/01\/17\/dear-mr-president-let-there-be-light\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/za\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Dear Mr President, let there be light"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/za\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/za\/","name":"Ghanamma.com","description":"News In South Africa - Latest South Africa News Headlines","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/za\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/za\/#\/schema\/person\/53d06a757a4242f113d200e3c290c036","name":"SouthAfrica News","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/22cb97c2b08df229330efb2b8c2645feaae8d3ca3ee434035fbb668b5b82f570?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/22cb97c2b08df229330efb2b8c2645feaae8d3ca3ee434035fbb668b5b82f570?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/22cb97c2b08df229330efb2b8c2645feaae8d3ca3ee434035fbb668b5b82f570?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"SouthAfrica News"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/za"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164608","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=164608"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164608\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=164608"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=164608"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/za\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=164608"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}