Cape Town – Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has initiated a nuclear procurement process through a government gazette notice, assigning the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) to oversee the programme.
But in a statement, the Democratic Alliance (DA) argues that the notice is irregular and must be withdrawn, asserting that the government cannot afford such a project.
“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,” the DA said.
According to EWN, in 2017, lobby groups opposed the government’s plan to partner with Russia for a nuclear build programme.
The DMRE’s recent draft integrated resources plan includes provisions for 2.5 gigawatts of nuclear energy, with the department stating that a second nuclear station in South Africa is at least a decade away.
Ramokgopa has tasked the DMRE with conducting a fair, transparent, equitable, cost-effective, and competitive process for nuclear energy procurement.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
