United Independent Movement

United Independent Movement
Abbreviation	UIM
President	Neil de Beer
Secretary-General	Jacques Taljaard
Vice-President	Fatima Abdool
Founder	Neil de Beer
Founded	1 October 2020
Headquarters	Somerset West, Western Cape
Youth wing	UIM Youth Alliance
Women's wing	UIM Women's Alliance
Slogan	Together we will
Website
uimsa.org
Politics of South Africa Political parties Elections

The United Independent Movement is a South African political party founded by Neil de Beer, former national security advisor to Nelson Mandela and a former uMkhonto we Sizwe operative.^[1]

Niel De Beer is a public speaker, businessman and activist.

The United Independent Movement (UIM) is a political party seaking to promoting and supporting candidates who will stand for election at local government (council), Provincial and National level. Their aim is to strengthen voter accountability by bringing the government closer to the people. They also aim to improve service delivery.

Formation[]

In 2020 a group of individuals with Neil de Beer as party leader, after de Beer had lost faith in the African National Congress (ANC), came to a decision that the situation in South Africa has deteriorated. The time had come to to stand up to a Government that had over a period of many years, brought South Africa to the brink of absolute chaos and lawlessness. And so the United Independent Movement was born.

The UIM officially registered as political party on 2 August 2021.

Election campaigns[]

The party registered for the 2021 South African municipal elections, and contested eight metro municipalities and close to a 1000 wards, with de Beer as a candidate for Mayor of Cape Town. The UIM gained 3 seats in council, one each in the City of Cape Town Municipality, Johannesburg Metro Municipality and Ethekwini Municipality.

The UIM polled 12th out of 56 parties in the City of Cape Town,17th out of 97 parties contesting in the Western Cape Province and 23rd out of 325 contesting parties Nationally.

Political Beliefs[]

In March 2021, de Beer said in an interview that he and his supporters were "tired" of the "ultra-left and the ultra-r

ight" in South African politics and that he and his party would represent the "moderate middle".^[2]

As part of his campaign for Mayor of Cape Town, in August 2021 de Beer stated that he believes the root cause of criminality is poor social-economic conditions, which must be addressed, but simultaneously, he also stated that he and UIM would have a "zero tolerance" approach to gang violence and "domestic terrorism".^[3] In September 2021, de Beer stated two policies which caused him to leave the ANC were the nationalisation of the Reserve Bank and land without compensation, policies de Beer believed destroyed Foreign Direct Investment into South Africa. De Beer has suggested that South Africa should instead draw revenue from its exports and reinvest that into local industries.^[4]

De Beer, representing the leadership of the Party, has deemed it right to make know certain common principles in the national policies of the organisation, on which the Party bases its hopes and aspirations for a better future for South Africa and all its people.

Mission Statement

• South Africa must at all times be the first in out hearts, minds and actions.
• We reject all forms of state, corporate and social corruption. Crime will be dealt with to the full extent of the law and we will implement a zero-tolerance policy.
• We will defend the rights of the citizens of this country as set out in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa.
• We will uphold and protect the Constitution at all costs.
• Every individual in this Party and future Government will have a voice that will be heard and respected.
• That a collective grouping of ideologies will be put down and agreed to. Those ideologies will be respected and protected.
• Everything we do must be for the people of South Africa.
• Never must we allow any person or entity to divide or derail the UIM from its objectives, which is to ensure that this country remains united, stays protected and cherished.
• Our motto will remain "We the People".

References[]