Question NW947 to the President of the Republic
22 May 2017 - NW947
Carter, Ms D to ask the President of the Republic
(1)Whether the Government has concluded an agreement for the development of nuclear plants with representatives of (a) the Russian government and (b) any Russian company subsequent to the removal of Mr Pravin Gordhan as the Minister of Finance; if so, in each case, (i) on what date was the agreement concluded and (ii) by whom; (2) have any agreements been concluded regarding the (a) project management and/or (b) construction of the specified nuclear power plants; if so, in each case, (i) with whom and (ii) at what cost?
Reply:
1. (a) No
(b) No
2. (a) & (b): Over the years, before the removal of the former Minister of Finance Mr Pravin Gordhan from office, the Department of Energy has been undertaking the preparations for the rollout of the Nuclear New Build Programme (NNPB). As part of these preparations, the Government has entered into Intergovernmental Agreements (IGAs) with nuclear vendor countries. These IGAs cover a broad range of areas for potential cooperation. Amongst others, the IGAs cover the use of nuclear energy for electricity generation including the design, construction, operation and decommissioning of nuclear power plants in South Africa.
It should however be noted that the Western Cape High Court has recently reviewed and set aside the decision of the Minister of Energy of 10 June 2015 to table some of these Intergovernmental Agreements before Parliament in terms of Section 231(3) of the Constitution.
(i) South Korea, USA, China, France and Russia.
(ii) The IGAs have no financial implications attached to any of them because they are cooperation agreements.