Nuclear Deal briefing offers no answers, just tired rhetoric

14 July 2015

The DA notes that today’s media briefing by the Energy Department (DoE) and the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) on a so-called “status update” on the Nuclear New Build Programme contained no new answers to pressing questions on a multi-trillion Rand nuclear project.

While this briefing was a perfect opportunity for government to dispel widely held public opinion that South Africa’s largest-ever procurement deal is tainted with secrecy and unfolding behind closed doors, today saw nothing more than restatements of the same old rhetoric with nothing new to add. 

The procurement process for this Nuclear project remains highly secretive, procedurally backward, and not beyond reproach. The South African public is still in the dark as to how much the deal will cost, and who will be paying for it. The DoE today offered no substantive answers to these pertinent questions. 

According to the Deputy Director-General for Nuclear Energy in the DoE, Zizamele Mbambo, part of the procurement process going forward will involve a competitive bidding process that is transparent.

That being said, it was plainly put that the State cannot divulge how much has been budgeted for this programme, nor can it disclose the exact cost of the anticipated programme.

While the DA has been relentless in obtaining vital information regarding this process, numerous attempts have been blocked, as the DoE uses a front of “bidder confidentiality” to refuse answering our legitimate questions. We will continue to exhaust all available avenues in order to ensure this process is truly transparent, and that not a single rand of taxpayers’ money is wasted.

The DA believes that any action taken by government ought to be conducted in an honest and transparent manner. Until all vital information regarding the nuclear deal is disclosed, we cannot be assured of this.

Statement issued by Gordon Mackay, DA Shadow Minister of Energy, July 14 2015