Zuma keen to push ahead on nuclear build
• Kubayi says project’s scale and pace will be reviewed
The government was still intent on pursuing the nuclear new build programme at a pace and scale that the country could afford, President Jacob Zuma said on Thursday.
Responding to oral questions in the National Assembly, Zuma said the nuclear programme remained firmly part of the energy mix that SA was pursuing to ensure energy security. The energy mix includes hydro, solar, coal, wind and gas.
Energy Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi this week said the government would review its nuclear plans as part of its response to the recession.
During a media briefing in Moscow on the sidelines of the AtomExpo nuclear conference, Kubayi reportedly said it was too early to say when a procurement process could restart for SA’s nuclear project. “We will do the nuclear project at a scale and pace that we can afford. If we need to review the scale we have obviously to go back,” Kubayi said.
She said the government was reviewing its nuclear agreements with many countries following the ruling by the High Court in Cape Town.
The court set aside the two determinations issued by former energy minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson that laid the basis for the nuclear procurement. It found that the determinations relating to the construction of nuclear plants with a capacity of 9,600MW were unconstitutional and invalid.
The court also declared the nuclear co-operation agreement between the South African and Russian governments to be unconstitutional and unlawful.
Zuma said the government was committed to a process that was open and transparent, cost effective and competitive.
“The transparent approach to the programme will ensure that the risk of any deviation from constitutionally acceptable procurement norms is reduced.
“It is important to note that the [high] court found fault with the process that was followed especially in tabling the intergovernmental agreements in preparation for the nuclear new build programme.
“The judgment does not deal with substantive matters pertaining to the country’s future energy programmes,” Zuma said. He also insisted that the Gupta family was not running government affairs.
He said the ANC was firmly in charge.
The president reiterated his desire to establish a commission of inquiry into the allegations of state capture.
He would soon announce the details of the commission and set a date for it to begin its work. Zuma said the commission would also have to deal with the leaked Gupta e-mails.
“I don’t know where the emails come from, how authentic they are. They have never been tested in any institution.
“We have taken a decision to establish [a] judicial commission of inquiry. They [the e-mails] will be part of that [inquiry]…
“We are moving as fast as possible to establish the commission,” he said.
A cache of e-mails, which appears to be correspondence between Gupta family members and their associates, including cabinet ministers and Zuma’s son Duduzane‚ has revealed how the family has been influencing government operations.
The state-capture allegations have led to renewed calls for the president to step down.
Zuma has also been blamed for SA’s economic woes.
The country recently entered a technical recession for the first time since the 2008-09 global economic crisis as the economy contracted 0.7% in the first quarter, after shrinking 0.3% in the fourth quarter of 2016.
THE JUDGMENT DOES NOT DEAL WITH SUBSTANTIVE MATTERS PERTAINING TO FUTURE ENERGY PROGRAMMES