Electricity Regulation Amendment Bill [B20B - 2006]: Final Mandates; Convention on Physical Protection of Nuclear Material: brie

ECONOMIC AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS SELECT COMMITTEE
20 March 2007
ELECTRICITY REGULATION AMENDMENT BILL [B20B - 2006]: FINAL MANDATES; CONVENTION ON PHYSICAL PROTECTION OF NUCLEAR MATERIAL: BRIEFING

Acting Chairperson: Ms P Temba (ANC) (Mpumalanga)

Documents handed out:
Electricity Regulation Amendment Bill [B20B-2006]
Proposed Amendments to the Energy Regulation Amendment Bill [B20B - 2006]
Department of Minerals of Energy presentation on Convention on Physical Protection of Nuclear Material
Gauteng, Northern Cape and Limpopo provincial final mandates
Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Eastern Cape, Free State, Kwazulu-Natal and Western Cape provincial final mandates

Audio Recording of the Meeting

SUMMARY
The provinces expressed their support for the Electricity Regulation Amendment Bill, but the Committee would only adopt it once the Department on Minerals and Energy had incorporated all of the Committee’s proposed amendments from the previous meeting into a final document.

The Department on Minerals and Energy briefed the Committee on the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material. The Convention came into force in 1987 and obliged States to implement specific protection measures for nuclear material. Its objectives were to avert any potential dangers of the unlawful taking and use of nuclear material and to ensure protection levels according to the convention rules on nuclear material.

The status of the Convention in South Africa was that the country had signed the Convention on the 13 September 1988 but it had not been ratified. Cabinet had since approved accession to the Convention on 7 March 2006. In terms of s231 of the Constitution, Parliamentary approval was required. The Committee agreed to accede to the Convention.

MINUTES
Final Mandates on the Electricity Regulation Amendment Bill
The final mandates of all the provinces, except the North West (whose representative had been ill and absent from the legislature) supported the Electricity Regulation Amendment Bill. However, the Acting Chairperson said that she would not read out the Motion of Desirability until the Department on Minerals and Energy had incorporated all of the Committee’s amendments from the previous meeting into a final document.

Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material
Ms Elsie Monale, Chief Director of Nuclear Non-proliferation and Nuclear Security, said that the Convention came into force in 1987 and it obliged signatory States to implement specific protection measures for nuclear material. It was regarded as the major nuclear security convention and the only internationally legally binding undertaking in the area of nuclear material security.

The State parties to the Convention were obliged to ensure protection of nuclear material used for peaceful purposes in their territories, ships or aircraft during domestic use, storage and transport. Its objectives were to avert any potential dangers of the unlawful taking and use of nuclear material and to ensure protection levels according to the convention rules on nuclear material in contracting party territories, ships or during international nuclear transport. The Convention also established measures about the prevention, detection and punishment of offences relating to nuclear material.

The Nuclear Energy Act had been amended to cater for the requirements of the Convention. For instance, section 56(1)(h) said that a person was guilty of an offence upon performing any act prohibited under section 34A (which contained prohibitions relating to nuclear material) and section 56(2)(d) says that a person was liable, on conviction of any of the above offences and was liable to a fine or imprisonment for a period of up to life imprisonment.

Section 34A(2) said that no person may intentionally and without lawful authority, receive, possess, use, transfer, alter, dispose of or disperse, nuclear material which causes or was likely to cause death or serious bodily injury to any person or substantial damage to property; intentionally obtain nuclear material by means of theft or robbery; intentionally obtain nuclear material by means of embezzlement or fraud; intentionally demand nuclear material by threat or use of force, or by any form of intimidation or intentionally threaten to cause nuclear material to cause death or serious injury to any person or substantial damage to property.

The status of the CPPNM in South African was that the country had signed the Convention on 13 September 1988 but it had not been ratified. Cabinet had since approved accession to the Convention on the 7 March 2006. In terms of s231 of the Constitution, Parliamentary approval was also required. The Department would also be responsible for the implementation of the convention requirements.

Accession to the CPPNM was needed to show commitment to multilateral agreements and the Convention was considered to be one of the 13 counter terrorism conventions. States were obliged to ratify all the thirteen conventions in terms of the UN Security Council Resolution 1317 and the other twelve had been approved by Parliament. This was also in line with the recent announcement of the further expansion of the South Africa nuclear program

The Convention had been amended in July 2005, and the amended convention would be brought before the NCOP as soon as Cabinet approved it. However, for a State to ratify the amended convention, it must be party to the original convention, which South Africa was not. Consultations were still ongoing on the amended convention
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The amended convention increased the scope of the original convention and had a much stronger counter-terrorism focus. It made it legally binding for the States to protect nuclear facilities and materials in peaceful domestic use, storage, as well as transport. The ratification of the Convention would not have an added burden on South Africa, and it was an incentive to the maintenance and improvement of nuclear security measures. In any case, South Africa was already implementing most of the obligations in the Convention.

Discussion
Mr J Sibiya (ANC) (Limpopo) asked if there was a possibility of negative international reactions to South Africa expanding its nuclear programme. Were there universal standards of protection? If so, who set them?

Mr Tseliso Maqubela, Chief Director of Nuclear Energy, said that in terms of the Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT), South Africa had a right to pursue nuclear technology. The country had been exemplary in the past by opening up its installations to international scrutiny. Its mining sites were also open for inspection by the International Energy Agency (IEA). This put South Africa in a good position to argue that its nuclear programme was peaceful. The IEA had certain standards for safety and security and there was a Commission of Safety Standards that approved all international standards. South Africa had a seat on this commission so it was involved in the setting of standards.

The Acting Chairperson read out the report on the Convention and the Committee agreed to accede to the Convention.

The meeting was adjourned.