Samuels describes Yesterday as the period from approximately 2010 to the week commencing the 11^th of July 2021. During this period South Africa experienced real looting on a grand scale. Corruption became common cause. Our streets were filthy. We had raw sewage spilling in our streets. Our rural schools had no water or sanitation. Our metro city halls and municipalities were littered with corruption. At a national level within government, we witnessed in-fighting that threatened our country’s stability. Corruption and unsavoury relationships between drug lords and the police were frequent newspaper headlines. The lack of service delivery within our communities became unbearable. Loadshedding and black out became a regular part of our lives. This unsavoury environment even extended into our national sports teams. Our national cricket teams were losing games by big margins. Political interference at an administrative level was being blamed for our poor performance.

Our Newspaper headlines read along the lines of:

“Interpol issues red notice for Guptas” (News24, 5 July 2021)

“State capture inquiry: ANCs Zizi Kodwa confirms receiving several payments from former EOH exec” (News24, 28 June 2021)

“3 senior government officials arrested over R255m asbestos project” (News24, 18 Feb 2021)

“SA municipalities racked up R26 billion in irregular expenditure” (News 24, 22 June 2021)

“Meet the South African bosses who earn over R140 000 a day” (Business Tech, 3 June 2019), whilst unemployment rises at a rapid rate the gap between the few rich and the many poor became wider and wider.

This Samuels explains and believes to have been the real looting of our SA treasures.

South Africa was a ticking time bomb 💣

Within a few days of this sporadic looting that was confined to portions of KZN, and a small part of Gauteng, the looting subsided. A new day dawned that Samuels describes as Tomorrow. Our communities were out in numbers cleaning the streets and clearing up after ‘Today’s’ devastating actions.

Our president appeared and did a walk around through some of the devastation, and with a loud voice and great determination he promised:

• a new commitment to service delivery
• undertaking to bring the instigators of ‘Todays’ action to book
• collaboration with the private sector, to rebuild the economy and recover from the damages of ‘Today’.

This looting made the private sector and ordinary South Africans understand and accept responsibility to address unemployment and poverty in our country.

Samuels Group management in a TV interview with eNCA, conducted from the ashes of their warehouse, publicly stated that the Samuels Group is committed to South Africa and its economy, that all its people are classified as Africans and South Africa belongs to all of us, irrespective of our race. This sense of belonging to this land is a key part of our make-up and leaving this beautiful country for what is perceived to be a better life elsewhere is to compromise this important sense of belonging.

Samuels states loudly that South Africa, its people, and its economy will rise like a phoenix from all this animosity stronger than we were ‘Yesterday’.

As a local South African, and an investor in our economy, Samuels firmly believes that our future economy will provide a fertile and stable investment landscape.

International investors have stated that investing in South Africa is an easy decision, that they would gladly pour more foreign currency into our economy. Mainly because investors invest in private business and not in governments. The actions of the private sector and our community to defend our economy, even when our state intelligent system and security cluster failed, is a big positive for foreign investors.

Tomorrow must be a better place if we are to believe some of the quotes from our former presidents:

Nelson Mandela – “Never, never, and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another”

Thabo Mbeki – “The ever-changing season that define the face of our native land… I know that

non-dare contests the assertion when I claim that I am an African.”

Jacob Zuma – “As a citizen of this country I’ve got to be honest to the people of South Africa.”

Cyril Ramaphosa – “We should put all the negativity that has dogged our country behind us, because a new dawn is upon us.”

Nelson Mandela – “I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. This is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”          

Our future is looking bright as there is no end to tomorrow.