Minister mulls nuke appeal bid
Kubayi disagrees process is nullified
Energy Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi will consult her legal team today on whether to appeal the Western Cape High Court’s findings that many of the initial steps taken towards the country’s nuclear new build programme were illegal.
Yesterday, Kubayi told the parliamentary portfolio committee on energy that she has to decide on whether to appeal the judgment or to seek a declaratory order.
She said she had inherited the problem, and said the only problem was with public participation, clearly disagreeing with expert opinion that, given the centrality of the need for public participation, the process had in effect been nullified.
DA MP Godron Mackay said it was disturbing that Kubayi was going full steam ahead with nuclear despite the court ruling. “All decisions on nuclear must be halted until the public participation process has taken place. If the whole process is not consultative, it is illegal,” said Mackay.
Kubayi admitted that South Africa sold much of its strategic fuel stock last year.
She gave no indication of which level of strategic oil reserves remained, despite several attempts by the opposition to prompt her on the matter.
Kubayi said there must be consequences if any wrongdoing was proven. The new minister gave every intention of wanting to be a broom that sweeps clean, saying transparency and accountability would be her watchwords as she dealt with what she referred to as the department’s “problem children”, including the nuclear deal.
She singled out the National Nuclear Regulator, the Nuclear Energy Corporation of South Africa and PetroSA as the problem children.
Kubayi said she was “very concerned” at the situation at PetroSA.