Court decision blocking nuke programme hailed as victory for civil society

26 April 2017 - 22:06 By TMG Digital
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The Western Cape High Court’s decision to set aside the two determinations issued by former minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson that lay the basis for the government’s nuclear procurement .programme have been hailed as a victory for civil society.

The Save South Africa campaign welcomed what it called the court’s decision to” block plans by President Jacob Zuma and his cohorts to proceed with their irregular nuclear programme”. “Once again‚ civil society has succeeded in stopping Zuma's attempts to use his office as a conduit for dodgy deals.

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This is a significant victory in the fight against state capture‚ and we congratulate Earthlife Africa and the Southern African Faith Communities' Environment Institute for their initiative‚” the campaign said.. It added: “There is no doubt that the primary driver of this deal is self-enrichment -- and a complete disregard for the fact that it will lock South Africans into unprecedented generational debt repayments.

As civil society‚ we must remain vigilant and continue to use the legal and other means at our disposal to block this initiative. There is a lot at stake‚ and Zuma and his cohorts have already shown that they have absolutely no intention of acting in the broader interests of South Africa and its people.”

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The civil action orgaisation OUTA said in essence‚ the judgment had kicked government’s current plans to rush the nuclear deal into touch‚ including Eskom’s recently announced plans to seek RFP’s from potential nuclear suppliers in the coming months.

“The judgment is extremely compelling and encouraging for society‚ in that it points to the need for Government to act rationally and adhere to the Electricity Regulation Act’s administrative process. This requires amongst other things‚ a credible IRP for the nation’s electricity requirements‚ in order to make such determinations for new energy build programmes.

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“It is clear to OUTA that failing the good work of the legal challenge brought against the Department of Energy by civil action organisations such as SAFCEI and ELA‚ the authorities would have got away with introducing the most expensive and elaborate capital expenditure project‚ one which would have crippled this country going forward‚” says Ted Blom‚ OUTA’s Energy Portfolio Director. “It is for this reason OUTA assisted SAFCEI with resources to ensure the public awareness process on this matter was heightened‚” OUTA said in a statement.

“OUTA is fully aware Government may seek to appeal this ruling and as such‚ will continue to collaborate with SAFCEI and others‚ as well as build on its past work within its energy portfolio‚ to hold Government accountable and ensure all actions have the best interests of the people of South Africa at the core of their decisions.

“We are tired of Government’s approach that runs roughshod over the need for meaningful public engagement and due process‚” said Wayne Duvenage‚ OUTA’s chairperson. “The pro-nuclear lobbyists and Government officials arrogantly ignore their need to be accountable and to provide detailed explanations to the public on why we need new nuclear plants‚ or what the true costs of these will be.”

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