Question NW3398 to the President of the Republic
12 October 2015 - NW3398
Lekota, Mr M to ask the President of the Republic
Whether the Government and/or any government departments held secret talks with Russia or any other country or with any companies anywhere in the world regarding the development of nuclear power stations in South Africa and proceeded to take any decisions on the specified matter without a transparent public consultation process regarding affordability, desirability, viability and practicability; if not, 2. Whether any nuclear deal by the Government will be done with the express consent of the nation’s representatives in Parliament; if so, what are the relevant details?
Reply:
1. No. It must be noted Government has interacted and signed Inter-Governmental Agreements (IGAs) with several nuclear vendor countries in preparation for procurement of Nuclear New Build Programme. To date IGAs have been signed with China, Russia, South Korea, USA and France. Negotiations are at advance stage with Canada and Japan also to conclude the IGAs. In addition the vendor parade workshops have been held with these vendor countries to demonstrate their technological capability. It should further be noted that the procurement process has not started. South Africa will follow an open, transparent, and cost competitive procurement process to select Strategic Partner or Partners in line with legislation. The rollout of Nuclear New Build Programme is guided by Government Nuclear Energy Policy of 2008 and Integrated Resource Plan 2010-2030. These government policies have undergone stakeholder consultations and stakeholder input taken into account process. In addition a Joint Technical Task Team has been established between Department of Energy and National Treasury to address the funding model for the Nuclear New Build Programme.
2. The Nuclear New Build Programme will be implemented in line with Government approve Nuclear Energy Policy and Integrated Resources Plan 2010-2030. It should also be noted that the Department of Energy report its performance in Parliament to the Portfolio Committee on Energy to provide oversight on the government programmes.
NW4057E