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January 7, 2004
PAN AFRICANIST CONGRESS OF AZANIA (PAC)
OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
P.O. Box 6010 Johannesburg 2000 South Africa
Phone: 021-403-3524 Fax: 021-461-9596
Mr. Philippe Hasson
Universal Footwear
18 Island Park, Auckland Street,
Paarden Eiland
Tel: (27 21) 510 4707
Dear Mr. Hasson
Most of us are on the front lines, experiencing the uncertainty and daily frustration of trying to survive in a rapidly changing world. Every aspect of our society including crime, education, healthcare and the job market is being challenged. It is necessary to support organisations whose leadership will enable this country to frame new strategies that these challenging issues will demand. The organisation I am asking you to support is the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC).
The PAC elections campaign needs your financial contribution. This will help us purchase signs, postage, printing, radio advertising and other campaign materials. You can be assured that your contribution will be a positive investment in the future of our country.
The PAC was founded forty-five years ago. It has evolved from the culture of a liberation movement with a military wing into a strong opposition party. It is impossible to step twice into the same river. It is not only the world around us that has changed since our political programme in the 1960s we have changed too.
We have achieved a lot, and in itâs ten-year plan the PAC has much more planned. We have played our part in the renewal of political culture. Topics which we initially introduced such as:
q Land distribution
q Unemployment grants
q Resource protection
q Free HIV/AIDS medicines
q Maintaining basic services under the ambit of a strong state
q The knowledge economy
q Agriculture reform, food security and sovereignty
q Free education
q Anti-corruption
All these issues are now taking centre stage. Our party has adopted progressive traditions, values and principles.
Our democratic politics are not simply a matter of making the best out of an inherent necessity. We believe that politics should allow choice between alternatives. The PAC as an alternative political party is based on the need to expose power structures and vested interests that work against the majority of citizens.
Equality & Dignity
The principle of dignity and freedom is at the heart of our policies. At the core of our vision is self-determination. We believe every citizen is unique and deserves to receive equal recognition. For this reason, implementing equality in all its various dimensions is what the PAC believes with strengthen a vibrant democracy.
Equality demands solidarity and citizen participation. Solidarity makes citizens more responsibility with a strong state supporting their efforts. Our aim is to incorporate the ideas, criticisms and protests of citizens, encourage them to take action and have a voice in developing our country. We want a society where people have the opportunity to fashion their own lives. Members of our society who need assistance ought to receive it as an _expression_ of solidarity. They are not beggars but equal partners with their own right and duties. Only people provided with an opportunity to start will arise and discover their own way through the varied paths life offers.
Social Policy
The PAC social policy sets out to safeguard the equitable distribution of key social goods. Our social justice and solidarity extend far beyond the classic policy of redistribution. Our primary policy goal is to prevent poverty and social marginalisation and improve the social situation of those worst within our society. A key project of the PAC is to guarantee a basic standard of living. Mass unemployment is unacceptable; it remains an unresolved issue of social equality without our society. The PACâs political task consists of arranging the social conditions governing our lives in such a way that everyone has an equal right to participate whatever background they are. This means placing people at the centre of every policy.
In an equal society, the state sets the framework that gives everyone a chance to develop his or her skills and talents. At the same time, in order to be the architects of their fate, our citizens deserve reliable social safeguards and network to cope with the more difficult situations in life. Our social policy is far remove from that care for others which incapacitates by helping: instead, our social policy is marked by the creation of a socio-political infrastructure that encourages each individuals self-determined development and promote action reflecting and enhancing solidarity with others. The task of the PAC social policy is to ensure conditions and opportunities in life that are equal, and therefore make a self-determined life possible.
Direct Citizen Participation
Our contribution of the evolution of the constitutional state is the introduction of non-racialism and peopleâs participatory collective governance. Our stand against racism and right wing extremism, and all other forms of extremism is taken with the full awareness of the responsibility we have inherited through our history. Only a diverse democracy with the chance for direct participation of all citizens can consolidate our democracy.
The PAC believes that fair access must be re-established in the face of existing social and economic imbalances. To this end, education the PAC affirms that education is a decisive factor in the ability to shape oneâs own life. Employment lets each person use his or her capacities and defines a key part of contributing to the development of our country.
The Pan Africanist Congress of Azaniaâs Party Platform is an evolving document, a living work-in-progress that expresses our commitment to creating meaningful and enduring change in the political process. Our Party's first priority is value-based politics, in contrast to a system extolling economic exploitation of the majority and the enrichment of a few.
We believe in an alternative, active, and responsible government. We believe in empowering citizens and communities. We offer hope and a call to action. In this platform we make our case to change the way our government operates - to change the quality of our everyday lives - to build a vision that brings new and lasting opportunities.
I am asking for your support in our efforts. Your financial contribution will help us become a strong opposition party that can actively participate in helping ensure that every citizen has a say in the decisions that affect their lives and not be subject to the will of others.
Help us increase our public participation at every level of government where we will ensure that public representatives are fully accountable to the people who elect them. By directly including citizens in the decision-making process, you can be part of creating a vibrant democracy.
Please deposit into our election fund:
Sobukwe Foundation
Athlone Branch
First National Bank
Account # 62012443975
Enclosed is an envelope for you contribution, which can be sent to:
The National Elections Campaign Manager
The Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC)
P.O. Box 6655, Johannesburg, 2000 South Africa
Thank you for your thoughtfulness and generosity!
Sincerely,
Dr. Motsoko Pheko
President â Pan Africanist Congress of Azania
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