Nuclear energy stalls in SA again over public participation hurdles
South Africa needs nuclear energy. In an unfortunate turn of events the Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientso Ramokgopa decided to cancel and withdraw the gazetted process to procure the 2 500MW nuclear power new build programme.
In a media briefing the minister said, “I agree with Earthlife Africa (ELA) and the Southern African Faith Community and Environmental Institute (Safcei) community that Nersa should have subjected that process (2 500 nuclear procurement) to a public participation process.
“The last thing we want is a major build programme on the back of suspicion that the department and the government is hiding something from the public. So I said we are going to democratise and we are going to make it transparent,” Ramokgopa said.
The minister thus signalled to markets that yet another South African attempt at a nuclear programme has failed.
Earthlife and Safcei in 2017 stopped the 9 600MW nuclear build programme – a total of eight reactors – by approaching the courts to complain that there was not enough of a public participation process. The same organisations this year approached the courts to once again stop another 2 500MW nuclear power build programme.
The intention by the government to build a 2 500MW nuclear power build was announced in December, 2023 by the Ministry of Electricity in the Presidency. The plan was that the government was supposed to publish a request for proposals (RFP) before the end of the financial year to meet the announcement deadline.
In January, 2024 the plan to forge ahead with the nuclear build was finally completed and the determination gazetted. The Presidency said the determination was first signed off by the then Department of Mineral Resources and Energy and concurred with by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) in 2021, with the aim of implementing the IRP19 nuclear-build programme.
Historical overview
While the process to build a new nuclear energy generation was part of the government’s plan for many years dating back to 2000, and 2010, respectively. The decision to procure the nuclear power stations was first gazetted in 2013 by former energy minister Ben Martins and then later amended and gazetted by then energy minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson in 2016. Very little has been achieved in that direction.
It was the Western Cape High Court back in 2017 that ruled against the government’s nuclear agreements with Russia, Korea, and the US as unlawful and unconstitutional in an April, 2017 judgment.
This landmark ruling by the high court also scrapped the South African government’s decision to buy around eight nuclear power stations — 9 600MW of nuclear power as part of a strategic partnership, and cooperation agreement in the field of nuclear power and industry between SA and Russia.
The last plan to build a new 9 600MW nuclear power plant was cancelled by a high court ruling citing issues such as that the government did not undertake sufficient efforts to engage and consult with stakeholders.
While making rounds in the media and the court of public opinion, the anti-nuclear advocacy lobby groups were saying that the process to build the 9 600MW SA-Russia nuclear cooperation power build was marred in allegations of corruption regarding the nuclear deal with South Africa and Russia.
At the time of the court ruling former president Jacob Zuma was the head of state during that period. That ruling fuelled further public agitations to remove Zuma from power and in the end succeeded in removing him in 2018 by forcing him to resign.
Nuclear request for RFP how it works
A nuclear deal is traditionally entered into between governments and the related state organs in the form of an RFP – a process that has highly stringent rules. The requirements and rules and regulations are just way too cumbersome to allow for such corruption to occur. To engage in corruption in a process of acquiring a nuclear- build programme takes a huge level of influence and a highly sophisticated process of undue influence exerted towards public officials on both sides.
The question needs to be asked, “Was the SA-Russia nuclear deal truly mired in corruption? Or was the public simply misled to believe in the circulated rumours surrounding the nuclear deal?”
Let us assume maybe for a moment that the 9 600MW SA-Russia nuclear deal was indeed mired in corruption. If that was the case then, those involved in such corrupt activities and those who received the financial proceeds and benefits to enable the nuclear deal to succeed would by now have been brought to account. But this has never happened. To date no one has ever been charged on the account of receiving undue financial proceeds and benefits from the SA-Russia nuclear deal.
Yet here we are once more in 2024 with the same organisations opposing nuclear build in South Africa. The campaign may sound reasonable and anchored on the concerns for public participation.
The truth is that Earthlife Africa and Safcei are anti-nuclear and coal and pro-renewables front organisations not just in South Africa, but globally. Their main goal is to bully governments and influence policies to support a renewable only agenda. They are well funded and resourced.
These organisations are well versed in stopping the use of coal and nuclear citing reasons such as the right to public participation.
For example, in Kenya Safcei and Earthlife Africa are supporting other allied NGOs and civil society organisations in opposing the proposed building of a new nuclear power station by the Nuclear Power and Energy Agency of Kenya.
But it sets Africa back in its infrastructure build, which puts the continent on the back foot when we are the most energy insecure.
Our leaders need to wake up and smell the coffee. Africa for many years has remained under-developed because of such organisations challenging and stopping major power builds and socio-economic infrastructure development projects while fronting to advance geo-political agenda interests of multi-national corporations and foreign governments. When a major power-build project is stopped, who loses and who benefits in the long term?
Crown Prince Adil Nchabeleng is president of Transform RSA and an independent energy expert.
* The views in this column are independent of Business Report and Independent Media.
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