In recent months we embarked on a number of programmes geared towards the revival of the PAC. Of significance we have intensified critical internal debates on this and other platforms of the party, participated on national youth multilateral forums, hosted the 1st Mayihlome Annual Lecture, presented IOTA as the toolkit for party recovery and seizure of state power, launched an online news publication on www.mayihlome.wordpress.com and commemorated June 16 1976 uprisings. All these events laid a solid foundation which outlined distinguished impeccable basis for our political conviction, orientation, programme of action and goals. These programmes represent our political and ideological case for the revival of PAC, mass mobilization and seizure of state power. We must maintain focus on these programmes and ensure that we spread and cascade same to lower structures including all party structures throughout the whole country. Let us intensively debate and cement a common purpose in terms of the ideological place of the party, a programme of action, reorganization of the party machinery, its leadership and transitional processes. We must then move from a premise that any engagement on the above issues must be based on a declared political and ideological case. Any factions or individuals who have no ideological or political case but want to hold PAC ransom will be treated as non-progressives and dealt with as such regardless of who they are and their role in the past. While past contribution definitely matter, what matters most is what you do and stand for today in furtherance of the good you did and stood for in the yesterday. As we have already stated we fully support the idea of a convention with the clear understanding and objective to bring unity of action, stability and ideological cohesion in the party. In addition the convention must be underpinned by principles of inclusiveness and consultation for it to have political legitimacy and resonates with party members across board. The following points are critical: members of PAC are invited to the convention and attend the consultation as such (no other autonomous political parties are invited to a forum which is aimed at resolving internal problems of the party, in particular PAC splinter groups should not be invited otherwise they will amplify PAC internal contradictions); all party structures must be involved; the coordinating team must be nominated by all structures and not imposed by any individual or structure; the convention framework or concept paper must be endorsed by the coordinating committee; the convention content documents must be commissioned and endorsed by the coordinating committee and sent to structures at least two (2) months before the convention sits; comments and inputs from structures must be solicited and upon receipt, a consolidated report sent back to structures at least a (1) month before the convention takes place. We must be clear that the motive force behind the convention is to rebuild the party and not an ego trip for any individual or structure. For the convention to achieve its purpose and succeed we must shed our egos and serve selflessly. Then there is there is the pivotal tissue of Transitional Authority which we will continue to insist on for very crucial reasons. In relation to the convention, it is our view that the convention coordinating committee would have to report to the Transitional Authority depending on how soon we give effect to the Transitional Authority. There is a need to close the leadership vacuum that exist in the party; restore a constitutional order that is beyond reproach and credible; create sound organizational machinery and stability; create a conducive organizational environment for free and open activities in the party; launch branches, regions and provinces; organize a national policy conference; together with all the structures create platforms and criteria for leadership succession with a view to build consensus and ensure that the crisis of lackluster leadership is finally put to rest; and lastly organize a national congress. For purposes of effectiveness the process of putting in place a Transitional Authority must be sanction by a legal diktat. We must therefore take advantage and optimize the constitutional crisis created by the dispute between Dr. Pheko and Mr. Letlapa Mphahlele currently pending before the High Court (Cape Town). It is important to replace the current structure with a legally empowered structure because the Transitional Authority should not and cannot operate parallel to the current structure otherwise such parallel arrangement will defeat the all important purpose to achieve unity, stability and cohesion in the party. The current divisive, repressive and illegitimate structure must simply disband and be replaced by a Transitional Authority. Conditions are not yet ripe for the production of a standing leadership structure immediately. We must not make the past mistakes of going the route of quick fix solutions to the complex issue of leadership otherwise we will simply perpetuate the vicious circle of disabling leadership crisis that has plagued the party for decades. Therefore the Transitional Authority is a must have if we are serious about rebuilding the PAC. This structure should be given adequate time to create the necessary conditions for party rebuilding. In our view this will work inclusive of the convention task require anything not less than two years at most. Then there is the issue of composition of the Transitional Authority. This structure must consist of a maximum of (2) two representatives from the national sphere of all existing component structure of the party, namely, APLAMVA, PALF, PASMA and PAYCO. This structure becomes the Transitional Authority and necessarily works in interaction with existing structures of the PAC at provincial level. Where no provincial structures exist, the Transitional Authority will directly work in interaction with existing regions, branches or members, as the case maybe, t fulfill its tasks. Having said all the above, we wish to reach out to those Africanists who left the party to join party splinter groups. In this regard I would like to refer to one of the wise parables of Jesus Christ the son of the almighty God…the Parable of the Prodigal Son in the book of Luke 15. According to Jesus "There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them. Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.' So he got up and went to his father.
But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate.” If those Africanists who left the party, amid confusion, to join party splinter groups can repent, humble themselves and return to the fold like the prodigal son, they too will be boldly welcome and embraced. For a Revolutionary Party Hulisani Mmbara PAYCO President 082 593 3012 _________________________________________________________________ More than messages–check out the rest of the Windows Live™. http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowslive/ --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Groups "Pan Africanist Youth Congress of Azania" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/payco Visit our website at www.geocities.com/paycoonline //panafricanist.blogspot.com -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
