Comrades
The steps taken by the Tshwane region to draft and submit for open discussion a
PAC national manifesto for the 2014 general elections is for me a welcome move
and should be encouraged and supported. There is nothing in our liberation
movement that says initiatives like this should only come from the top or from
some bureaucratic corner and then imposed on the broad membership and
followers. In most instances these documents seems to be drafted by some
single clever individual and suddenly party bureaucrats deliver them at the
eleventh hour without even the intention to solicit response and ownership from
cadres at the grassroots and middle ranking leadership of the PAC. I take my
hat off to you, comrades in Tshwane.
There are obvious and glaring flaws in the draft, and I go along with M'afrika
Kgagudi on the points he is highlighting. Safe to say I don't have a phobia
for G-d, the draft should have a section dealing with religious policy and
moral laws to guide the spiritual leadership of the nation and state the PAC's
unambiguous position. Greed, moral corruption and unscrupulous behavior by
leaders and government entities should be tackled head on. We must explain why
we would lead a clean government.
The manifesto must have a theme, and catchphrase if you like to elicit
attention and unique identification from the electorate. For instance, in 1994
the PAC said "Africans deserve better", and the ANC taking cue from their
advisers, viz., US Democrats in 1992, said "We have a Plan"). Recently the DA's
Maimane is trying to emulate Obama's electoral campaign prowess.
The draft manifesto should address the National Question: who are the citizens
of this country and how do they identify themselves? The Constitution and the
ANC understand this to mean four national groups, such as Whites, Blacks,
Coloureds and Indians. This is Apartheid multi-plied, according to Sobukwe.
What do we mean by the Azanian state and the definition of an African Nation?
Why do we jealously defend land rights to the indigenous people, and why do we
speak of sovereignty?
A modern day socialist economic policy is crucial to assist and define how the
PAC would stimulate growth and manage the 2014 to 2019 fiscal period? The
"financialisation" of governments and states is collapsing after the 2008
meltdown started by Lehman Brothers, and the Eurozone is facing a social
crisis. Our national economy is not in isolation from the rest of the world -
and we shouldn't kowtow to the mess created by the so-called G20 rich nations.
It is also important to zero in on public health, socialist education and even
the climate change policy debate.
The draft talks about Poverty, Inequality and Unemployment. These are already
raised by the incumbent government as a sop to nullify opposition to their lack
of delivery and empty promises. By raising the same points, the draft falls
into the trap of framing the problems of South Africa in a simplistic manner
and to follow behind the ANC's policy positions. Poverty is a result of the
exploitation of Africa by Western powers - it is deliberately man-made;
Inequality is endemic because reactionary theories that sustain white
domination and herrenvolkism still persist without, frills and trapping; and
Unemployment results from the combination of the two points, the development of
new and fast communication technology, and uncertainties brought about by
"financialisation" of world economies by the Bretton Woods finance
institutions. I don't think moving away from calling Imperialism,
Neo-colonialism, and Monopoly Capitalism by its real name is the right thing to
do. We must maintain the revolutionary character of Pan Africanism.
Even though I may sound negative to some of the points in the draft manifesto,
what I'm getting at in supporting the initiative is that taking the discussion
to the people and getting a feedback is the best method of consultation inside
the Party and outside it. We must hold open and public meetings and let the
people participate and endorse the manifesto as their own project. However, to
go there repeating official positions of the government is suicidal and will
not justify the existence of the PAC as an alternative political power. We are
going to have to understand that there are many other parties campaigning for
support and making ourselves different on an authentic basis is an imperative
we cannot avoid.
Izwe
Jaki Seroke
Date: Thu, 14 Nov 2013 14:33:43 +0200
Subject: [PAYCO] Fwd: [PAC Tshwane] Fwd: Draft MANIFESTO
From: fikis...@gmail.com
To: payco@googlegroups.com
Ma'Afrika Attached is our DRAFT manifesto for the 2014 elections. Izwe lethu
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