Minister of Finance in the dark on how Nuclear deal will be financed
9 April 20145
A reply to a DA parliamentary question has just revealed that National Treasury currently has no plan on how it will finance the trillion rand nuclear deal signed by Energy Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson last year.
When asked how the deal will be financed, Minister Nene admitted that the programme is a substantial financial commitment, and that "Government is undertaking a careful and thorough analysis of financing options to ensure the affordability and long term sustainability of the fiscus and financial soundness of a state owned entity like Eskom".
It can only be assumed that government has thus recklessly committed itself and inevitably the South African taxpayer to a trillion rand framework agreement without first exploring how it will be financed.
I will therefore be submitting further parliamentary questions to both the Minister of Finance and Minister of Energy to ascertain the following:
Whether Treasury was consulted before this deal was agreed upon and entered into?
If so, to what extent?
If not, what steps, if any, did the Minister take to enquire about the financial feasibility of the deal after he became aware of it?
What the deals of the procurement process are? and
By what date will the procurement process be finalised?
Estimates suggest the Nuclear Build Programme cost will range from R320 billion to R1.4 trillion - excluding likely cost overruns.
While South Africans are currently suffering the effects of a preventable crisis caused by poor policy decisions over the last 17 years, the ANC are committing to unaffordable solutions that will only bear fruit in the next 12 years. The ANC has lost all concept of practicality.
In our current fiscal environment and electricity crisis, it is imperative that every cent of public funds is spent properly and cost effectively. The DA will do everything in its power to ensure this happens.
Statement issued by Gordon Mackay MP, DA Shadow Minister of Energy, April 9 2015
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