Dear Andre,

I read your book! Well done!

I thought I should write to you. My letter will be simple and straightforward, no sophistication at all, just a simple thank you for your patriotism.

Mr. De Ruyter, every South African who cares about the country and its future and has lived the consequences of corrupt and incompetent governance, should salute you for your courage, fearlessness and patriotism. You are unafraid to speak truth to power, as per the title of your illuminating, timely book.

Your critics say that you wrote the book for clout and for commercial purposes. Ignore! They are being nasty.

You are a millionaire, with enormous business experience at the executive level. There is no way you could have written the book, invest your time and effort, for money. Writing a book is no easy task, I am currently writing one. It does not make sense that you would risk your life and that of your family for money when you are already a millionaire.

That you dedicated your book to the honest men and women you worked with at Eskom, not any of your family members, should be proof that you wrote the book out of great concern about the dire state of South Africa. Will that logic matter to dogmatic people who keep saying you wrote the book for money? It will not. Sense is not that common.

Your bravery has inspired many of us who are frustrated by the corrupt mismanagement of the beautiful country that is South Africa. The book has given us ammunition.

You know the challenges of our country very well Andre. You have been one of prominent leaders who have had to deal with the challenges we face.

In contrast to other major emerging markets, South Africa does worse by every critical metric - economic growth, unemployment rate, crime rates. This is a country in decline, due to corruption and incompetence of the governing elite. South Africa deserves more men and women of your character in leadership, which is where we lack as a nation.

South Africa was once seen as a promising country, and then came corruption and incompetence on national governance. That image was lost.

For years I have argued that South Africa's socio-economic problems can be drastically reduced in just a few years. Crime, including the theft and sabotage at Eskom, can be reduced in just a year or two. How? Well, stronger, competent law enforcement and a stronger justice system can reduce crime drastically in the country.

Our unemployment rate does not have to be less than 10% for us to reduce the shocking levels of crime we have in the country. All that is needed is a culture that is, and leaders who are, intolerant of crime.

In your book you have detailed the mess you had to deal with at Eskom. Judging by the content, being CEO of Eskom is indeed the toughest job in South Africa. What makes the job tougher, in my opinion, is that Eskom is a state-owned company that has become deeply corrupt, in a country with a widespread culture of corruption. There are too many political interests as well. Add to that criminality in the company, it’s an utter mess that destroys businesses and jobs!

With the national election now a year away, I believe your book must be read by every voter in South Africa. It’s the most important written work since the State of Capture report by Advocate Thuli Madonsela. You and Thuli have taken the corrupt elite head on, the elite that has hijacked our democracy and is crashing the country.

You see Andre, South Africa needs the leadership of Lee Kuan Yew’s kind. Lee Kuan Yew the founder of Singapore. Under Lee Kuan Yew, the nonsense happening at Eskom would have stopped a long time ago. Kuan Yew understood very well that to uplift his country Singapore from poverty to riches, he would have to be intolerant of crime.

We have a culture of crime that we choose not to crush and remove from our communities.

I have developed enormous respect for you, along with Advocate Madonsela. We are tired of being governed by criminals and the corrupt elite that tolerates criminality in the country.

The wise South Africans will read your book. Thank you very much for your patriotism, sir.

Best wishes wherever you are,

Phumlani M. Majozi

Senior fellow at African Liberty

Website: phumlanimajozi.com

Twitter: @PhumlaniMMajozi