MyZA

News, Directory, Events and Other Stuff

You are here: Home / News / Withdraw the irregular notice for new nuclear power procurement

Withdraw the irregular notice for new nuclear power procurement

Dear Editor

The Minister of Electricity, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa and the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe, should immediately withdraw the irregular determination notice issued on Friday in which they announced the commencement of a process to procure new nuclear energy generation capacity of 2500MW based on the 2019 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP).

The DA holds the view that the new determination notice issued by Ramakgopa and Mantashe undermines Treasury authority on fiscal sustainability, violates the conditions for Eskom’s debt assumption and has not been properly costed. Additionally, we question how Mantashe signed the determination in 2020 and the Chairperson of NERSA at the time, Jacob Modise, in 2021, when the suspensive conditions issued by NERSA in terms of the proposed procurement had not been adhered to.

South Africa’s fiscal position has become progressively worse since October 2019 when the IRP 2019 – which detailed the ANC government’s intention to procure 2500MW of new nuclear power, was released. As such, the new determination notice is proposing the commencement of a project that is financially impossible and is on a scale and pace that the country cannot afford. No information has been provided by the Department addressing the “pace and scale” imperative of IRP 2019, nor have they provided any long-term demand profile as required by NERSA.

The fact that this determination was issued without comprehensive cost estimates confirms the undeniable reality that it was a unilateral decision taken by Mantashe and Ramokgopa without consulting Treasury.

In their rush to go out to tender for a new nuclear build programme, Ramokgopa and Mantashe may be in direct violation of the conditions that were attached to Eskom’s debt assumption by national Treasury. Eskom’s debt assumption obligations are such that it is not allowed to take on more debt and engage in any new capital development projects. However the new determination notice, places Eskom and the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy and Eskom at the center of the proposed nuclear power procurement programme.

What is more worrying is that Mantashe has decided that he will not be accountable to anyone in his dodged determination to procure new nuclear power. Mantashe is yet to respond to a DA Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) submitted on 12 December 2023 to obtain the record of decision detailing his Department’s decision to procure 2500MW of new nuclear capacity. It is this cloud of secrecy and lack of accountability that has South Africans worried that a new nuclear build programme may become a feeding trough for connected cadres at a scale that would dwarf the exponential cost escalations at the struggling Kusile and Medupi power stations.

Regards

Kevin Mileham MP
DA Shadow Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy

Category: Tag:

If you feel strongly about this article then feel free to send MyZA a ‘Letter to the Editor’ using the submission form below:

Letter to the Editor

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
If this is in response to an article please include that article title here or as the lead in for the first paragraph of your Letter below.

Separate tags with commas

Localise your letter by naming the city your words are about. Add relevant words describing your subject. Single comma separated words of no more than 5
Your Name(Required)
Your Name will be linked to the website below.
Your personal, business or social media web site
Choose NO to not set up a user account on MyZA. User Accounts will allow you to submit letters under your own Author Name

3 Latest Letters to the Editor:

  • Fun South African fact

    Dear Editor Fun South African fact: towns like Franschhoek and Stellenbosch are home to world-class wine farms set in stunning, scenic surroundings. Regards Aressa Smith In Response to/From: Luxury Properties Seized in New Lottery Crackdown

  • Condolences on the Passing of Lusanda Dumke

    Statement by Leander Kruger MPL – DA Buffalo City Constituency Leader: The Democratic Alliance in Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality mourns the passing of Springbok Women’s rugby player and Mdantsane trailblazer, Lusanda Dumke, who lost her battle with cancer at the age of 28. South Africa has lost an exceptional athlete, a leader, and a source…

  • Rape Kits Delivered, But…

    Statement by Nicholas Gotsell MP – DA NCOP Member on Security & Justice: The DA can confirm that 2 840 rape kits arrived in Cape Town on Monday, following sustained DA oversight and pressure after multiple police stations across the Western Cape were found to be without this critical forensic evidence tool. While this delivery…

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. A boer went to the appliance store sale and found a bargain. \”I would like to buy this TV,\” hetold the salesman. \”Sorry, we don\’t sell to boere,\” the salesman replied. He hurried home, took a shower, changed his clothes and combed his hair, then came back and again told the salesman \”I would like to buy this TV.\” \”Sorry, we don\’t sell to boere,\” the salesman replied. \”Bliksem, he recognized me,\” he thought. So he went for a complete disguise this time, haircut and novel color, shaved off the baard, suit and tie, fake glasses, then waited a few days before he again approached the salesman. \”I would like to buy this TV.\” Sorry, we don\’t sell to boere,\” the salesman replied. Frustrated, he exclaimed \”Jislaaik, man! How carry out you know I\’m a boer?\”\”Because that\’s a microwave,\” the salesman replied.

  2. A child can play with anything including his mother’s breast but not his father’s testicles.