AZAPO - Azanian People's Organisation

PREFACE

The 2009 General Elections take place under difficult times for the democracy of our country. The democracy for which our people sacrificed their lives is under constant attack. Sadly, the hard-fought ethos of ubuntu and decency are continually sacrificed in favour of personal greed and abuse of state resources, the result of which is mediocre service delivery to the taxpayer and the poor people.

Though the current political climate seems not to inspire hope in the future, AZAPO, through this manifesto, invites all patriots of our beautiful country to tackle the challenges we face, together. Of course this will necessitate another form of struggle to ensure power is returned to our people. Your support of this struggle will manifest itself in the number of votes you cast for AZAPO, so as to ensure through your mandate that AZAPO can implement the proposals contained in this Manifesto.

Your vote is your weapon to change the lives of the majority of our people for the better. Use it wisely and vote AZAPO For the Sake of our Country!

MOSIBUDI MANGENA

AZAPO PRESIDENT

ELECTION MANIFESTO

STRIVING FOR A DESIRABLE SOCIETY

Returning power to the people implies enabling ordinary citizens to govern themselves. They will be able to do so by directly electing the country’s President and voting into power a party of their choice. AZAPO has thus identified the following issues, which should be addressed as a matter of urgency, in order to facilitate returning power to the people:

· Restitution and redistribution of land to ensure equitable access to the land and its resources.

· A self-reliant economy that will promote economic growth and development that will create jobs to ensure that citizens work for their livelihood rather than wait for social grants that do not enhance their dignity

· Abolishing the provinces

· Placing measures to alleviate poverty in society

· Providing social support to the weak, old, infirm and most vulnerable.

· Prioritising Health, HIV and AIDS.

· Building decent and adequate houses to eliminate homelessness.

· Adherence to the rule of law without according any favours to anyone.

· Aggressive combating of crime, racism and afrophobia.

· Uprooting corruption and organised crime.

· Abolishing civilian gun ownership.

· Prioritising education as a tool for development.

· Ensuring that public service positions will be occupied by people with the requisite skills, who will be appointed on merit rather than party political loyalty.

· A visionary and morally grounded leadership that will diligently serve all South Africans regardless of colour, race or political affiliation.

· Ensuring that traditional institutions are respected and recognized at local government level throughout the country.

· Ensuring that there is a healthy relationship and coexistence of local government, councilors and traditional leaders.

· National consciousness geared at promoting patriotism, love of the Continent and humanity.

RETURNING POWER TO THE PEOPLE

AZAPO believes that government should be answerable to the electorate. An AZAPO government will thus ensure Power is Returned to the People through:

1. BUILDING A STRONG DEMOCRACY

Democracy affords all of us freedom of speech, association, equality before the law and the right to be ruled by those we elect freely. Only through a strong democracy can we harness the energies, talents and abilities of all our people for the development of our country. For that to succeed, AZAPO believes that

· Organs and institutions of the state, such as Parliament, the Executive, the Judiciary, the police and the army need to be protected.

· Only when these organs and institutions of state are respected and accorded the necessary legislative protection as enshrined in the Constitution, will all citizens of our beautiful country be protected against abuse of state power and related transgressions.

· A strong and vibrant civil society, which respects the rule of law, must be built and maintained to sustain a strong democracy.

2. DIRECT ELECTION OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA

The President is the face and personification of a country. AZAPO believes that the President belongs to all citizens of a country once elected. It is therefore important that the President be elected directly by the electorate. Such an elected President will be directly accountable to the citizens and not to the political party s/he belongs to.

3. ABOLISHING PROVINCES

In line with building a strong democracy and enhancing efficiency in governance, AZAPO views the nine provincial governments as unnecessary and costly. As government AZAPO will:

· Seek to abolish provincial governments and replace them with administrators answerable to the national government.

· Ensure that these administrators work closely with the local sphere of government, allowing for faster and effective service delivery.

· Strategically deploy public servants who were employed in provincial government to local government thereby releasing more funds and skills for projects at a local level.

4. COMBATING CRIME

AZAPO believes that true democracy and freedom in a country are necessarily associated with safety of person and property. In addition, AZAPO views crime as an abomination to humankind. Crime is thus unacceptable in society. AZAPO proposes the following measures to combat crime

· Abolishing civilian gun ownership and allowing only the police and army to be the legal gun bearers in the country when on duty.

· Ensuring that those who commit rape, murder, armed robbery and other similar serious crimes should have their constitutional right to bail limited.

· Ensuring that severe sentences for serious crimes are imposed.

· Encouraging communities to actively fight crime by cooperating with law enforcement agencies and other related initiatives.

· Investing resources in educating our communities on the causes and factors contributing to crime

· Reinstating the Scorpions

5. COMBATING CORRUPTION

AZAPO believes that public institutions should retain their legitimacy, good image and continue to enjoy public confidence. It is therefore imperative that all public officials in general should adhere to strict moral codes. As government AZAPO pledges to

· Combat corruption in all its forms and follow up through means of the state anyone involved in acts of corruption, be it state officials, public representatives, members of the private sector or ordinary citizens.

· Tighten the code that regulates the conduct of parliamentarians, politicians and public officials in general.

6. PRIORITISING EDUCATION

For a country with a history of oppression, education is the most effective redress mechanism. AZAPO also sees education as being central to the development and growth of a nation. To this end an AZAPO government will ensure that:

· Educational planning and supervision is controlled by national government.

· A National Education Redress Fund is established to assist needy tertiary students.

· The restructuring of the tertiary institutional landscape continues in line with principles of equity and redress so as to improve access to higher education.

· Initiatives to develop Indigenous languages to the level where they can address important issues in commerce, science and technology are supported.

· Mechanisms to harness science at every level of the education system are created and maintained

· Free and compulsory education is provided for all children up to and including Matric or age 18

· Every learner is taught in their mother tongue at foundation phase

· All languages are treated equally

· Physical education is introduced in all schools

7. MODERNISING THE ECONOMY THROUGH TECHNOLOGY

Technological innovation is the key to a competitive economy, which in turn will lead to both wealth and job creation. AZAPO pledges to make efforts to equip our people, especially the youth, with technological skills and to also afford them opportunities and resources to innovate. As government AZAPO will:

· Develop a national economic empowerment strategy with emphasis on industries such as manufacturing, mining, forestry, agriculture and fishing and seek to add more value through technology.

· Actively promote and support technical innovation in the entire South African economy.

· Link the productive sectors of the economy firmly with education

8. INVESTING IN PRODUCTIVE SECTORS

The most sustainable way to invest public funds is in those areas that assist citizens to engage in productive economic activities and job creation. Through the provision of extension services, fertilizer, draft power and markets, our people would be able to produce food for themselves for both the local and international markets. AZAPO commits itself to assist this process by:

· Implementing policies and programmes that promote industrial development and entrepreneurship in the rural communities and other economically depressed areas in our society.

· Providing through the economic empowerment strategy favourable and sustainable conditions of increasing employment and business opportunities to people in both rural and urban areas.

· Instituting schemes that will be geared at uplifting the economic status of the poor.

· Ensuring that the principle of self-employment is pursued so as to reduce reliance on the state as employer.

· Ensuring that there is skills development, enterprise development and economic growth by establishing a special Ministry of Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMME’s) to fast track absorption of informal businesses into the economy.

· Reviewing all laws and regulations that prohibit, hamper, or restrict growth of SMMEs

· Having central co-ordination of activities governing SMME's at national and local levels.

9. STRETCHINIG YOUR RAND

In pursuit of the goal of uplifting the economic status of the poor in economically depressed areas such as townships and villages, AZAPO proposes that:

· Residents in townships and villages should band together with their professionals and business people to allow their Rand to circulate as long as possible in their areas.

· Inhabitants of these areas could stretch the Rand by buying as many of their goods and services as possible from one another.

· Business people and professionals should offer quality service to their customers and demonstrate the spirit of Ubuntu.

· Business people and professionals operating in townships and villages plough back into these communities through support of community services.

10. PROVIDING AN EFFICIENT HEALTH CARE SYSTEM

AZAPO believes that it is the responsibility of the state to provide primary health care services to all. To ensure that the country has an efficient, effective and trusted health care system, an AZAPO government will endeavour to:

· Give priority to the prevention and treatment of chronic and infectious diseases.

· Train and employ enough medical personnel.

· Provide adequate equipment and medicines.

· Make the general working conditions of health professionals and all health workers more attractive to enhance efficiency.

· Establish clinics for most communities, and where possible, more hospitals be built in rural communities.

· Encourage the continued study of traditional medicines and herbs so that they can be used as part of the national health system.

11. DE-STIGMATISING HIV AND AIDS

AZAPO firmly believes that it is the responsibility of all organs of society and the state in particular to combat and de-stigmatise HIV and AIDS. AZAPO believes that the de-stigmatisation and combating of the HIV and AIDS ailment is achievable if all or most of the following suggestions can be implemented:

· Providing a social grant to the people living with HIV and AIDS that are below the 250 CD4 count and present clinical manifestations..

· Ensuring that there is enough supply of medicine to HIV positive pregnant mothers to minimise the transmission of HIV to unborn children.

· Encouraging NGOs, HIV and AIDS lobby groups, voluntary caregivers, pharmaceutical companies and other stakeholders in the health sector to form part of a broad-based plan to combat HIV and AIDS.

12. ESTABLISHING A STATE HOUSING COMPANY

AZAPO is of the view that a state housing company should be formed to provide high, medium and low cost housing in the country for both purchase and renting. This is in line with the understanding that housing should be provided by the state. Shacks and other forms of substandard housing would then be eradicated. As government AZAPO will:

· Encourage housing co-operatives, in conjunction with a State Housing Company, which will build decent houses to be rented to the people in the townships, towns and cities.

· Ensure that those that are unable to fend for themselves are built houses provided for by a social development fund.

· Ensure that people are able to change from renting to buying once they can afford it or acquire automatic ownership after renting for a stipulated period.

· Reverse the present housing policies and plans which promote inferior housing for the majority of our people.

13. REVERSING PRIVATISATION

Privatisation has led to uneven and skewed economic development patterns in both rural and urban communities. As government AZAPO pledges to ameliorate the situation by:

· Reversing the privatisation of state assets in order to create and maintain jobs for citizens of this country.

· Opposing and reversing the privatisation of health services and essential services (i.e. the provision of water, electricity, sanitation and housing) and assume responsibility for delivery of such services.

· Reversing privatisation in those areas of the transport system, which it considers to be in the public interest.

14. IMPROVING THE PUBLIC TRANSPORT SYSTEM

AZAPO notes the growing deterioration and threatening collapse of the public transport system. Associated with this is the inadequate regulation of the privately owned system of transport. An AZAPO government will:

· Through legislation ensure that both the road and passenger transport offer quality and affordable service to commuters.

· Also ensure that law enforcement agencies are empowered through legislation to provide safety and security on both road and rail stations countrywide.

· Create enabling legislative instruments to facilitate the monitoring and regulation for all transport systems serving the public.

· Make available resources to expand the transport network to reach all the communities

15. ENTRENCHING AN ACCESSIBLE JUSTICE SYSTEM AND CORRECTIONAL SERVICES

AZAPO believes in the independence of the judiciary and will as government:

· Improve the cooperation between the police, the courts and prisons in order to fast track the arrest, conviction and imprisonment of criminals.

· Ensure that convicted criminals earn their up-keep in prison for the duration of their sentences.

· Also increase the Legal Aid Fund to enhance the capacity and efficiency of handling cases.

16. IMPROVING THE SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM

AZAPO pledges to eliminate the hardships associated with the payout of old age pension and disability grants. As government AZAPO commits itself to:

· Increase and improve facilities for the aged and people with disabilities.

· Provide for all social grants, based on a minimum living wage.

· Provide a social wage for the unemployed.

17. PROVIDING CLEAN WATER, SANITATION AND ELECTRICITY

AZAPO believes that the provision of water, decent sanitary care and electricity to all citizens is the primary responsibility of government. An AZAPO government will:

· Ensure that all citizens including those living in rural areas and in informal settlements (Mekhukhu) have access to clean water, electricity and hygienic sanitation.

· Make essential services affordable to the poor and the unemployed.

18. FISCAL POLICY AND TAXATION

An AZAPO government’s general approach will be to review the tax regime to ensure that it favours the poor by:

· To eliminate the risk of personal and national financial ruin brought about by the unscrupulous speculative activities of under-regulated financial institutions, the banks in the Republic shall be nationalized.

· Reducing the overall tax burden on individuals, especially low and middle-income earners as they are hardest hit by the present tax system.

· Placing heavy taxes on those who own large farms beyond a stipulated size; and those who keep many plots and houses in the towns and cities to make money.

· Creating favourable conditions for foreign investment. However, such investment will operate under conditions that will be set out by the government to advance the interests of the country.

19. LABOUR UNIONS AND THE WORKING CLASS

AZAPO encourages the establishment of a democratic, independent working class movement, which will:

· Ensure that government pursues a socialist oriented economic programme geared at eradicating poverty and ameliorating the lives of the workers in general.

· Review the present labour laws to ensure that the exploitation of workers is done away with.

20 LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES

An AZAPO government pledges to:

· Vest the ownership of the land, including everything below its surface, the air above it and the sea around it, in the hands of the State.

· Ensure that minerals and natural resources are utilised to improve the livelihood of the nation by introducing sustainable programmes for poverty alleviation, job creation and primary health care.

21. WOMEN IN SOCIETY

An AZAPO government will:

· Actively champion and support programmes that are geared at the eradication of patriarchal attitudes, prejudices and practices.

· Eradicate all inequalities between men and women.

· Work towards the establishment of an anti-sexist society.

22. YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

AZAPO recognises that the youth are an important component of any society and will thus as government:

· Formulate a holistic youth policy that will deal with developmental issues and youth service

· Create a permanent youth forum to thrash out issues relating to the youth.

· Ensure that all youth undergo compulsory community service as a means to inculcate discipline, responsibility and a culture of respect for human life.

· Ensure that Youth Development Centres are established to train the youth to become useful citizens of AZANIA.

23 SPORTS FOR ALL

Sport plays an important role in the life of a people. To this end an AZAPO government will:

· Make it possible for every citizen to participate in the sport of her/his choice.

· Ensure that sport is free from being controlled by the rich who organise it for purposes of material gain.

· Encourage indigenous sport and promote it.

24. FOREIGN POLICY

AZAPO recognises the equality of all nations and also respects national independence and international friendship. As government AZAPO will:

· Establish diplomatic relations with all friendly countries irrespective of their political systems.

· Recognise the right of all nations to self-determination and cooperate with all progressive countries, organisations and international agencies to advance the course of freedom and independence for all the oppressed of the world.

· Cooperate with all countries and organisations fighting against Racism, Zionism, Colonialism, Imperialism, Super-Power domination and interference.

25. PROMOTING CULTURE, MORALITY AND RESPECT

No nation has ever prospered on the back of the erosion of human traits such as culture, morality and respect. These are the values that bind us together and provide agreed and understood modes of behaviour. Development is not only physical, but also psychological and cultural. Education, economic activity, health care, politics and others are simply not possible in an environment devoid of respect.

AZAPO will as a matter of urgency embark on a Cultural Revolution to ensure:

· adherence to the cultural values in all spheres of life including education, television and radio in our country and among our citizens

· Promotion of the arts in all its manifestations

26. ADVANCING AFRICAN CONTINENTAL SOLIDARITY

Africans were subjected to slavery, colonialism and neo-colonialism. It is the only continent that was at the receiving end of all these forms of oppression. The results are that Africans are the poorest in the world and are more prone to international exploitation and manipulation. Only through African solidarity; on the continent and the Diaspora, and the pursuance of our own agenda would we be able to overcome our particular adversity.

AZAPO will therefore:

· Promote peace and stability in the Continent through African solutions

· Promote economic cooperation to fight poverty and advance our nations

CONCLUSION

Considering that it is now 15 years into democracy, our people definitely deserve better. It is on this basis that AZAPO insists that ordinary citizens should assert themselves and ensure that their power is returned to them. What is required to achieve this noble goal is political will.

AZAPO calls on all our people to join hands as we build our country in a strategic direction that will appreciate the importance of our people as masters of their own destiny. AZAPO once more repeats its clarion call to all our people:

“Your vote is your weapon to change the lives of the majority of our people for the better. Use it wisely and vote AZAPO For the Sake of our Country!”

ONE AZANIA, ONE NATION