Cape Town – The leader of the newly established United Independent Movement (UIM) Neil de Beer has challenged EFF commander in chief Julius Malema to a public debate on the country’s economy.
De Beer said on Monday that such a debate with the EFF was pertinent as the country’s economy is taking a strain and the EFF proclaims to be fighting for economic freedom.
He said the current focus was rather skewed towards racism and the state of the economy seems to be disregarded.
“Mr Malema, I challenge you today to an open debate … you choose the venue and I will come and have an open public debate with you on a stage any time, any place, any day… We should debate on a subject that maybe you should study and that is the return of peace, hope, reconciliation and the economy of this country,” he said.
In his response EFF spokesperson Vuyani Pambo candidly said: “The CIC can’t legitimise a non-entity, a political chancer whose wishful thinking has led him to openly fantasise about launching himself into the political terrain by using the name of the CIC and the EFF, which is the fastest-growing political party; that is going to be the government.”
The UIM is not a registered political party but rather a social, economic and political movement that supports the country’s independent candidacy programme.
De Beer, a former ANC national security adviser and business mogul, recently joined forces with former DA leader Mmusi Maimane, who leads the One South Africa movement. De Beer is also a former Umkhonto weSizwe intelligence agent and most recently a special adviser to the Deputy Minister of Defence and Military Veterans.
The UIM says in its manifesto: “We are relentless patriots that believe in our country and our people. A home for all. We place South Africa first in our hearts, our minds, our thoughts, and our actions.
“We understand that we need to live and breathe this for a truly united and prosperous South Africa. We serve our country with honour, we treat our people with dignity, we uphold our constitution with respect.”
De Beer said an attack on the country’s justice system, the judiciary, and law enforcement was an attack on the country’s citizens and this was the reason why the UIM would be launching a strategy – not an attack on an individual or an attack on an organisation.
“This is an attack on those who are not following the constitutional protection of giving our citizens justice,” he said.
Included in the UIM’s strategy, according to De Beer is a written submission with a request to meet with the speaker of parliament “where we will submit a docket, file, and factual evidence that members of the EFF, Mr. Julius Malema, and Dr. Mbuyiseni Ndlosi have been speaking hate speech, violence, and breaching the oath of parliament which they swore to uphold.
“We are going to ask for them to be removed as parliamentarians, that they are being chastised and that urgent judicial steps, from parliament, must be taken.”
De Beer said they would also send an appeal tothe Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng to request that all current judicial dockets against the members of the EFF be united into one single case with all the charges.
“This must be a public hearing for the citizens to have peace of mind that people who speak hate, murder, and destruction will be brought to justice.”
The UIM will also be writing to the president as well as the police minister to request the opening of a judicial inquiry to investigate for “once and for all the cause of the Agri attacks”.
De Beer decried the spate of murders in the country saying the past three weeks had been especially volatile on the matter of farm attacks, starting with the cowardly murder of Brendin Horner and everything that followed.
“We as the UIM acknowledge that this has been a long-term issue within the country but it has become something that turned into the burning of the food supply of this country, it is our opinion as the UIM that this is not random fires but rather arson,” he said.
IOL
