Concern is mounting about the government's planned R1-trillion nuclear power station tender, with opposition parties demanding reassurances from Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe that the tender will not be "mired in corruption" like the R70-billion arms deal.

It will be the biggest tender ever issued in South Africa .

"The multibillion-rand arms deal, which was just a fraction of this cost, was mired in corruption," said DA parliamentary leader Lindiwe Mazibuko. "There are reports that the government is being strongly lobbied about this tender by companies such as Areva and Westinghouse who are desperate to get in on the action."

Motlanthe said the cabinet's newly established national nuclear energy executive coordination committee would be made up of "men and women of integrity" and that it would keep "issues of accountability and transparency" in mind.

"I can assure this house that the processes would be managed in a way that would leave no grey areas or dark corners."

African Christian Democratic Party MP Cheryllyn Dudley asked if the government had budgeted money for handling nuclear waste, which remains hazardous for more than 200000 years.

"We have had nuclear energy in this country for years. We even had nuclear warheads and the international atomic energy agency inspects our nuke facilities each year," Motlanthe said. "We set an example by voluntarily getting rid of our nuclear weapons so the management of nuclear waste is an easier problem."

The cabinet approved a 20-year energy plan for South Africa in March. It stipulates that 23% of the energy supply be derived from nuclear power.

Parliament's portfolio committee on energy visited France last year and met representatives of nuclear energy corporation Areva. They told the MPs that their company was ready to build six nuclear power plants in South Africa.

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BornintheRSA

Posted 547 days ago

A trillion is a big number from which a few missing billions won't be noticed. The deputy president's assurances are worthless. The ANC has squandered public trust. New revelations of wasteful and accounted expenditure are reported almost daily.

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JohnRandall

Posted 547 days ago

I wonder whether Times Live should not consult David Gleason on the claim that 9600MW of nuclear plants will cost one trillion Rands. See here: businessday.co.za/Articles/Content.aspx?id=156918 . Stretching credulity to a breaking cost he calculates that the cost is half the quoted amount. Overseas experts (who do not include the Chancellor House surcharge) halve the cost again. However, that's using designs already excluded by the word "Uranium" or perhaps more correctly by the use of water (steam at a very high pressure) to translate the reactor heat into generated electricity. To understand what I'm talking about, you can watch this thoriumremix.com/2011/ for 5 minutes or let it run for two hours. The ANC government - correctly - wishes to build power stations so that all South Africans have access to electricity. The irony is that if they make it so expensive that even the middle class can barely afford it, they need not bother building white elephants.

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Mnbvcxz0

Posted 547 days ago

Thanks, the information is enlightning.

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sancy4

Posted 547 days ago

The 'committee would be made up of men and women of integrity' ? See, there's the first problem. They aren't going to find any of those within the ranks of the ruling party.

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ThePurplePimp

Posted 547 days ago

Wrong, they have two. One abstained from voting in the secrecy bill and the other one made a duck just before the vote. But then again they will be fired before the end of the year

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BobbyBob

Posted 547 days ago

This has to be the first really big payday after the arms deal and, this time, corruption cannot be reported on. So the ANC can loot at will.

In the end: corruption, the new NHI , and other huge ticket expenditures, will bankrupt us.

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JohnGalt

Posted 547 days ago

The graft is already built into the system so will not be evident. It is contained within the BEE framework and legitimised whereby procurement has to be done through uncompetitive preferred suppliers who contract the work out to those who legimately should have got the tender in the first place with the fronting organisations (Chancellor House, ...) including their exorbitant premiums. These procedures are happening at all levels from the billion rand lease deals (a la Roiux Shabangu - should be Skebenga), power station rebuilds etc down to the mundane purchase of everyday expenditure (eg plane tickets etc) at parastatals. Ask the Public Protector - she recognised this earlier this year - no wonder the growth rate is mundane. Our economy has built in free loaders who produce nothing except legitimising excessive government expenditure. The only growth of these middle men is their girths.

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BobbyBob

Posted 547 days ago

Its very frustrating.

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Mnbvcxz0

Posted 547 days ago

So we need to revise our procurement poicies. There is a new procurement framework in place and I hope it will sort out our procurement headaches. The truth is that the system currently is open to misuse. Tenders should be awarded to the service providers who adhere to high quality standards. The price shoud not be the major concern as can be seen in Total Quality Management Systems. The cost of rework is sometimes a hidden price for going for the lowest bidder. Coupled with legal fees in trying to remedy the damage already done. When factoring in the time wasted trying to sort out the mess, it is clear that the government and the National Treasury(through Pubic Works) need to rethink how it roll out services. Other considertions would be SABS/ISO certifications, NHBRC registrations, Civil Engineerinng Council registrations, SAICA registrations, and other professiona registrations which improve credibility of the system. The government should improve its monitoring processes post project completion to ensure that the work was done within the agreed specifications. To achieve this is a mamoth of a task, that is why the services of firms like Deloitte, SizweNtsaluba et al are of paramount importance in ensuring the system remains credible and free of abuse.

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BobbyBob

Posted 547 days ago

Mnbvcxz0

Johngalt is talking about corruption and you are talking about procurement processes. Your processes wont sort out the corruption and the graft, particularly now you cant report on it anymore. The secrecy bill will hide so much graft it's frightening.

And the sad part of it is that our economy is not that strong that it can cope with it. There seems little hope that we will not go the DRC or Zim way.

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Tronn

Posted 547 days ago

The have no idea what they are playing with. This is a move to build nuclear weapons. We will be at war with the rest of the world before they have rubbed the sleep out of their eyes.

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JohnRandall

Posted 547 days ago

Tronn, if the plants burnt Thorium rather than Uranium, bombs are not a potential by-product. Mankind should never have used Uranium to generate electricity. When the decision had to be made: Uranium or Thorium, two factors played a role. On the one hand scientists had learnt how to work with Uranium (because they needed bombs) so why start all over again and develop the technology based on Thorium (even though this was tested and found to work)? Secondly, bombs were still needed, so that neatly put an end to the argument! Note that Cheryllyn Dudley's concern is also eliminated by using Thorium instead of Uranium. Not only is _very_ much less waste produced but that "waste" has a half-life of about 300 years instead of the quoted 20000 years. Furthermore, I've quoted the word waste because the by-products of burning Thorium have value of their own - perhaps greater than the value of the electricity produced! Finally, the cost of Medupi and Kusile is currently estimated at R240 billion for 9600 MW. We could have nuclear plants (also 9600 MW) at the same cost of construction as coal but, because of the cost of thorium (virtually zero - it is thrown away when mining rare earths!) we could have electricity cheaper than coal.

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Tronn

Posted 547 days ago

We do not need another power station in any case. Eskom is managing just fine with what they have and they are busy looking into Solar power now.
Nuclear power stations produce very little kilowatts anyway.

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cANCerSurvivor

Posted 547 days ago

It beggars belief how this dangerous and outrageously expensive technology is still an option. A Florium reactor costs a quarter of this and has none of the nuclear waste. A windfarm will cost 10% and a massive solar grid will cost half. Eskom is just taking the piss.

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ooooooooo

Posted 547 days ago

It all started with Mbeki when Escom was still controlling the tender process. He was paid handsomely for favouring the French. In came Jacob Zuma. He cancelled all Escom nuclear initiatives and took it upon the State to control the new round of tenders. He will be handsomely rewarded for favouring the French. His visit to France coinciding with the UN vote on Libya where SA voted with the west speaks for itself. The obvious deal was for Zuma to vote positively on the UN resolution then France will return some favours when SA award the nuclear tender to the French. This arrangement will help the French to restore their economy after the recession and will make Jacob Zuma even richer than what he already is.
History will show that Zuma was the most cunning and corrupt leader ever in Africa.

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SuiGeneris

Posted 547 days ago

''''''''''The executive coordination committee would be made up of "men and women of integrity'''''''''''

==============================================

Is it possible ????????

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ooooooooo

Posted 547 days ago

This nuclear project will make the arms deal look like a Sunday school picnic. All information will be classified secret so there will never be a public outrage like in the case of the arms deal. The few brave reporters who dare to investigate will be jailed. Suid Afrika het sy gat gesien danksy die ANC.

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JohnRandall

Posted 547 days ago

More irony: While we tell one another about the inflated cost of outdated technology, the Australian government is involved in talking about Thorium. Adding the "w w w dot" bit , look at this: thoriumaustralia.com.au/symposium.html. Today its politicians. Tomorrow (the 25th) they talk about Molten Salt Reactors (MSRs). I wonder if anybody in SA's parliment has heard of Thorium?!

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destroyer

Posted 547 days ago

hahahahaha ,.......... John!!!! " I wonder if anybody in SA's parliment has heard of Thorium?"

Nice one!!!! these retards in parliament sleep most of the time, and are still battling to walk upright and use a knife & fork properly, and you want to know if they have heard of Thorium???

hahaha!!!

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Joe-Higgins

Posted 547 days ago

1Trillion bucks!

ANC is doing excatly what Malema and company wants...REDISTRIBUTION O' WEALTH. Watch the ANC deployed vultures at work. There are quite a lot of useful redistribution points..Public Works department, Eskom, Trasnet, City council the list is endless. What is corruption in the eyes and ears of ANC..zilch.

God bless South Africa.

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JoeCitizen

Posted 547 days ago

Better hurry up and get that secrecy bill enacted.
That way, the press won't be able to expose the rampant fraud and corruption in yet another failed ANC project.

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MisterWendal

Posted 547 days ago

Get rid of all the BEE requirements in the tender process, making it a purely business deal, and the amount required will be drastically reduced!
But why cut out valuable shady deals which facilitate corrupt politicians and their equally corrupt benefactors to take their ill-gotten cuts?

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destroyer

Posted 547 days ago

it is the only way they can gain wealth. The majority do not have the capacity to build or create their own wealth making structures. In the main they are consumers and certainly not producers.

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MisterWendal

Posted 547 days ago

Gotta love the Deputy President's "he went that way" gesture in the photo!

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Mnbvcxz0

Posted 547 days ago

So we need to revise our procurement policies. There is a new procurement framework in place and I hope it will sort out our procurement headaches. The truth is that the system currently is open to misuse. Tenders should be awarded to the service providers who adhere to high quality standards. The price shoud not be the major concern as can be seen in Total Quality Management Systems. The cost of rework is sometimes a hidden price for going for the lowest bidder. Coupled with legal fees in trying to remedy the damage already done. When factoring in the time wasted trying to sort out the mess, it is clear that the government and the National Treasury(through Pubic Works) need to rethink how it rolls out services. Other considertions would be SABS/ISO certifications, NHBRC registrations, Civil Engineerinng Council registrations, SAICA registrations, and other professional registrations which improve credibility of the system. The government should improve its monitoring processes post project completion to ensure that the work was done within the agreed specifications. To achieve this is a mamoth of a task, that is why the services of firms like Deloitte, SizweNtsaluba et al are of paramount importance in ensuring the system remains credible and free of abuse.

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BobbyBob

Posted 547 days ago

Your processes wont sort out the corruption and the graft, particularly now you cant report on it anymore. The secrecy bill will hide so much graft it's frightening.

And the sad part of it is that our economy is not that strong that it can cope with it. There seems little hope that we will not go the DRC or Zim way.

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Mnbvcxz0

Posted 547 days ago

Bobby- It's never too late to pack your bags and go live in those countries, as it seem to me they are your ideal places to be under the sun. For the rest of us we will see this country becoming the most it could be. Problems are not a preamble to a great disaster. Einstein once said there is a great opportunity in the midst of a problem. He also said he is not a genius but sticks with problem a little longer. I am sure you also had great breakthroughs in your studies when you believed the problem was not beyond solving. For our sake I wish you’d stay and be part of the solution.

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BobbyBob

Posted 547 days ago

Mnbvcxz0
I dont want to live anywhere else, I want to live here in the vision the ANC gave us when Mandela came in. I dont want to see the country destroyed by corruption. We must guard against that. All you can add is that there are opportunities here. Want to go and tell the people in Kinshasa that? "Sorry you are starving, but there were opportunities....."
Only those were reserved for the few politicians.

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Mnbvcxz0

Posted 547 days ago

Bobby now you're talking. Is there a away ordinary civilians like me and you can submitt a proposal to government detailing a plan of action we have that will eliminate corruption from the fibres of our society?

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BobbyBob

Posted 547 days ago

Yes, its not difficult, fix the information bill. That's all that's necessary.

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Mnbvcxz0

Posted 547 days ago

What exactly about the protection of state information bill needs to be fixed?

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BobbyBob

Posted 547 days ago

Oh man..... the abilty of random officials to declare information secret. To hide anything as a result of that. Basically we must put in safeguards so that the bill cannot be used to hide corruption.

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Mnbvcxz0

Posted 547 days ago

A safeguard like inserting a clause stating that independent auditors should annually verify the information classified against the set parometers to ensure that misclassification does not happen? The auditors should also be subjected to confidentiality agreements to ensure their work remain private. This should not be a problem because auditors are currently under strict codes prohibiting them from divulging confidential client information. Would that help?

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BobbyBob

Posted 547 days ago

Mnbvcxz0
Who are you trying to kid? Auditors wont find the corruption when hidden. They'll only find the obvious. I dont think you've worked with auditors before.....

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Mnbvcxz0

Posted 547 days ago

Yes I have worked extensively with auditors and I know they are one of the smartest professionals in the planet.

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BobbyBob

Posted 547 days ago

Mnbvcxz0
Really ? How many of the recent corruption schemes were brought to our attention by auditors ? Very few, and why? Simply because they are satisfied if procedures are followed, they cant go into other organisations to follow through on enquiries. And corruption is between parties where someone has to tell you about the whole scheme across companies.
And under the new act that's not possible. Honest whistleblowers, who have the coutries interests at heart, are jailed!
The perpetrator wins, the honest man is jailed.

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Mnbvcxz0

Posted 547 days ago

The 14 sugar milling plants in South Africa could generate around 10 000 MegaWatts of power if they invested in something like R100 million to feed into the National grid all the excess electricity they generate from burning of bagasse (i.e. the fibre one gets after crushing sugar cane). The bagasse is an idea bio fuel into the mill's boiling processes. The CO2 footprint is lighter comprate to fossil fuels such as coal and there is absolutely no risk of radiation. The ongoing cost of generating electricity from such a process is also very low as there is no need for highly educated experts to certify the safety of the plants. Further than that; the ethanol produced as a by product from molasses has a very low CO2 foot print and can easily be a substitute for diesel and petrol. I am sure there are other agricultural based industries where similar results can be produced. Atom energy (breaking of the atom's neucleus through fission or fusion) should not be considered only if all else fails. On the other hand atom is the cheapest sustainable form of energy known to mankind. The initial costs of commisioning a plant are astronomic though.

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bua

Posted 547 days ago

The best way to guarantee integrity in this regard is to insure that opposition parties are represented in the national nuclear energy executive coordination committee. Their role must not be that of minority-voice, but also have access to all information disseminated there in. Alas! History has taught us that a portfolio full of the ruling party members is never corruption proof.

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Mnbvcxz0

Posted 547 days ago

bua I could not agree with you more. The committee's composition should comply with every aspect of the guidelines set out by King III. The committe should have qualified electrical engineers, economists, CANSA group, DA members, IFP members, Cope members, YL members (joking). The ANC will never assert the credibility of its decisions if it does not consult widely outside its ranks.

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