Minister Brown must rein in Eskom over nuclear new build

20 October 2016

The DA notes with contempt the one-man propaganda mission being undertaken by Mathshela Koko, Eskom’s Group Executive for Generation, as he attempts to stack the decks in favour of Eskom proceeding with the new nuclear build programme with haste.

The fact is that Cabinet is yet to appoint Eskom as the procuring agent for nuclear. Koko is jumping the gun and usurping both the role of the Department of Energy (DoE) as well as that of Treasury in the process, going so far as to make pronouncements about the programme’s funding and timelines.

Koko is intent on Eskom proceeding with the new nuclear build based on an outdated Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) from 2010, setting a deadline of 2026 for Eskom to bring the first new reactors online. 

It can only be assumed that Koko’s haste stems from a desire to get the ball rolling before the release of the updated IRP because this could push the need for the new nuclear build back as far as 2040. This would be a major hurdle to those who seek to profit from the new nuclear build programme.

I will therefore be writing to the Minister of Public Enterprises, Lynne Brown, to ask her to reinn in Eskom and allow processes such as the tabling of the updated IRP to be completed.

An expensive and ill-advised nuclear program has the potential to cripple our economy. We cannot allow Eskom to forge ahead irresponsibly and without due consideration of all the facts.

Issued by Natasha Mazzone, DA Shadow Minister of Public Enterprises, 20 October 2016