NECSA board appointed: permanent or interim?
22 January 2020
The Democratic Alliance (DA) cautiously welcomes the appointment of members to the Nuclear Energy Corporation of South Africa’s (NECSA) board to provide stability to the state-owned entity. We ask that they pick up where the previous board left off, rather than try to reinvent the wheel - particularly with regards to the entity's turnaround strategy.
The DA believes that the Portfolio Committee of Mineral Resources and Energy must interrogate these new appointments to ensure that they are not another example of cadre deployment and that the best people have been appointed to address the myriad of financial and other problems at NECSA and its subsidiaries.
We have taken note of the appointment of former Eskom Chief Nuclear Officer, Dave Nicholls, as Chairman of the board. Nicholls brings years of experience in the nuclear industry and we trust that he will at all times act impartially and in the best interests of South Africa’s larger nuclear industry and the approved Integrated Resource Plan.
Furthermore, the DA will now seek to request clarity on whether this board is a permanent appointment or just an interim one, so that we may know the sustainability of the new stability present at NECSA. The beleaguered utility requires a board that is independent, beyond reproach and capable of dealing with its extreme financial challenges.
Issued by Kevin Mileham,DA Shadow Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, 22 January 2020
