Tina is a no-show at nuke talks

05 August 2015 - 02:04 By Jan-Jan Joubert

An ANC MP has asked the Department of Energy to reconsider the way in which it deals with information about the huge proposed nuclear-power building programme to prevent playing into the opposition's hands. ANC MP Motswaledi Matlala was speaking yesterday at a sitting of the parliamentary portfolio committee on energy. He seemed to be calling for greater transparency on the nuclear deal, which experts predict will cost R1-trillion.Matlala's statement is the most recent indication of growing unease across party lines about the secrecy surrounding the proposed deal.The DA, which is in favour of nuclear power but not of the way in which the deal is being handled, has often criticised the secrecy shrouding it.The director-general of the Department of Energy, Wolsey Barnard, said that would-be nuclear power contractors were swamping the department with proposals, and that details of the procurement process were being thrashed out between the Treasury and the department.Energy Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson failed to arrive for her scheduled presentation...

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