DA to make comprehensive submission objecting to government’s revived nuclear plans
15 June 2020
The Democratic Alliance (DA) will make a comprehensive submission to the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy as to why South Africa cannot afford a nuclear build programme.
This follows the Department issuing a Request for Information (RFI) for a proposed 2 500 megawatt (MW) nuclear power plant building programme.
The DA reiterates its opposition to government’s plans of reviving nuclear energy in South Africa because the reality is that the fiscus cannot afford a new nuclear procurement programme that the Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe seems to be firmly committed to.
It cannot be right, given South Africa’s current socio-economic situation which has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, for government to force a nuclear deal down our throats when its priority should be fixing the economic ills of our country.
The simple fact is that we cannot afford a nuclear build programme in whatever form or scale.
Minister Mantashe’s actions are indistinguishable to that of former President Jacob Zuma’s captured allies, who attempted to force a catastrophic nuclear deal on our country. This move will only play into Mantashe's Russian and Chinese compatriots’ pockets, and will not be of any benefit to South Africa’s current energy crisis.
We need to be pragmatic about energy security, and how that can be achieved in the shortest timeframe, at the least cost to the consumer. A nuclear programme based on ideology or nationalist pride will be catastrophic.
The DA urges Minister Mantashe to put bad ideological beliefs aside for the sake of our country, and we urge the ANC to do the same.
The DA supports a diverse energy mix. A far better solution for the short term is to deregulate small scale embedded generation and allow municipalities to purchase power directly from independent power producers.
South Africa and the economy must be government’s first priority, any proposals to invest in nuclear, at this time must be rejected and all efforts must be redirected to efficient energy resources and fixing our ailing economy.
Issued by Kevin Mileham, DA Shadow Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy, 15 June 2020
