A little too late – a South African has written a heartbreaking open letter to the President after losing her business and all her life savings.
South Africa (16 August 2020) – Sandipa Shah supported the government’s decision to close for 21 days but after almost 150 days of lockdown and no help from the government, the passionate South African has had to close her business down and has lost all her life savings in the process.
At Good Things Guy we are all about the “good things” and hopefully by publishing this open letter, we may shine some light on a harrowing situation for many South Africans… and by shining a light, hopefully, we can find some solutions.
Read her open letter below:
Dear Uncle Cyril,
Despite all the respect I thought I had lost for you, I will always address you as Uncle because that’s a sign of my integrity and how I was taught to address my elders.
I write this letter in the hope that it will somehow reach you and you will read a first-hand account of how you are responsible for the absolute crumbling of not only my life but many others who worked for me and surrounded me in this industry.
A little bit of background… I’ve been a tax-paying citizen for 16 years now since I started working at the age of 23. I have never defaulted on my tax returns and come from a long line of tax-paying contributors to this beautiful country. My parents both diligently paid their taxes too and contributed largely to the community we lived in not only through charitable ventures but through their careers as teachers, shaping the lives of so many successful men and women who are in turn doing their bit for this country.
I’ve worked smart all my life and when I took the plunge to open my own business it was a difficult decision. I sacrificed my entire life savings, my precious family time and my own health and sanity to do it. I thought it would be worth it in the end. But little did I know that just over a year later you wouldn’t even give me the opportunity to find out if I would have a success story too.
Instead, you shut me down, you reopened me, you shut me down again and you offered no help at all.
At first I supported your decision to close for 21 days which seemed a reasonable amount of time to help curb the spread of the virus. I ticked all the boxes to receive help from you and you supposedly secured R500 billion in order to help us but I saw none of it. My staff and I received nothing from the UIF fund despite many attempts at trying to get help from them although I was successfully audited by the labour department less than 6 months ago. This is another sterling example of my complying with all your requirements but you not coming to the party when I need help.
My staff and I have suffered immensely over the last few months; all black women doing their bit to contribute to your economy.
You’ve left me with nothing to show for the 16 years I’ve been adding value to this country and I’ve now had to permanently close down my business.
I will never know whether it would have been a success or not.
For all these years I was the patriotic citizen who bragged about our beautiful country to everyone around the world and could never have imagined leaving to live somewhere else because of my patriotism. However, I am now seriously considering it. I know I have a lot to offer and that I will be appreciated wherever else I choose to go.
Yours in absolute devastation, disappointment and disillusionment
Sandipa.
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