Plane loads of Palestinians, anti-Israel case at ICJ, sex ed and more raised in letter to President

Active citizenty and prayer movement Gatekeepers South Africa sent an open letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa today requesting action on a number of “pressing issues” which they say need addressing in order to rebuild the nation.

The letter opens by congratulating Ramaphosa “on a successful one-year tenure of the G20” before raising concerns, including the arrival of two plane loads of undocumented Palestinians; crime and the Madlanga Commission; Israel and the International Court of Justice; the Apartheid Bill introduced by Al-Jama-Ah; sex education and the promotion of the LGBTQIA+ lifestyle; the need for stricter laws on the advertising of gambling; the alcohol age restriction; and proposed age restricting and regulation of smartphones. Gatekeepers made specific requests to the President regarding each of its main concerns.

Read the full letter

The letter also lists other “critical matters” without elaborating on them. These matters include cable theft; corruption and extortion by local and provincial government officials; trade agreements (e.g. cheap imports from China) which hurt local business; crime — especially drug dealing, human trafficking and gangsterism; the CRL’s bid to regulate religion; and the curse on the nation through the use of abortion as a means of contraception. The full letter, which is signed by Lizelle Maurice on behalf of Gatekeepers South Africa and partners, can be read here.

The letter concludes: “Mr President, we love our country and we know that this country still has to come into its full potential. Addressing and paying close attention to the issues raised above, will go a long way in the rebuilding of our nation to become the safest and most beautiful country to invest, live, work and play in. There is too much brokenness and poverty in our society today. It is up to us as leaders to correct that, work together, collaborate and create a better world for all.”

On its website, Gatekeepers SA says it is “a non-denominational, multiracial umbrella body and public interest Non-Profit organisation created to be a united, single voice, established to lobby for laws to be passed by the Government of South Africa that protect and restore sound South African family values.” Its members and partners include several faith-based organisations which operate in various spheres of society, viz., government and politics; business and economics; education and training; family and health sciences; religion and belief systems; media, communication and digital technologies; sport, art and entertainment.

Lizelle Maurice told Gateway News that today’s letter is the latest of a number of letters it has sent to the President over the years. “We’ve sent requesting him to remove Bheki Cele as Minister of Police because of our high crime rate. We’ve lobbied him on the CSE curriculum — even having a presentation to the House of Traditional Leaders.

“Jesus didn’t only pray. Jesus was actively busy in the community, healing people. So our one task is to pray, but also interaction. Faith without works is dead. We can’t just pray about things. We must raise it and do the ask. What we are doing through the letter is to ask. The Word of God says we have not because we ask not. We can pray about things, but then we have to do the ask.”