Energy Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi is to present a revised new nuclear build programme to the cabinet later this year as the government pushes ahead with the controversial energy option.
Speaking to the Sunday Times this week, Kubayi committed not to repeating the mistakes of her predecessor, Tina Joemat-Pettersson, saying she would ensure transparency in a nuclear procurement that is estimated to cost more than R1-trillion.
Joemat-Pettersson came under fire for the secrecy shrouding the nuclear programme during her tenure and was accused of keeping even parliament in the dark when she entered into agreements with the Russian government.The former energy minister was left with egg on her face when the High Court in Cape Town nullified the agreement with the Russians for lack of transparency and for failure to consult parliament.
Kubayi, who was promoted in the aftermath of the March cabinet reshuffle, said she wanted to dispel suspicions around the government's new nuclear procurement.
"Previously, the department, in the manner they handled the project, gave suspicions to South Africans. There was no openness in what we want to do and who we were engaging. There was no need for that - all could have been in the public space.
"The agreements which were signed could have been in the public for scrutiny. But because we wanted to treat this thing as top secret, that gave suspicions," she said.
Her department was now ready to present its new plan to the cabinet following informal discussions with Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba on related costs.
"We are almost towards the final stages where we will be able to approach cabinet and we need to take cabinet into confidence. The country needs nuclear in terms of our energy mix policy - we need to balance, we are a developing country and we still need intensive industries," Kubayi said.
She had also engaged the National Energy Regulator of South Africa and asked Eskom to hold back, following reports in June that it was planning to invite tender bids for the construction of nuclear power stations.
At the time, Eskom said the power utility was looking at various funding models.
But Kubayi insisted that it was her department's prerogative to devise a funding model for the programme.
"Agents like Eskom are implementers, so the issue on terms of the matter of nuclear is at policy level, so they can't be involved at a policy level. We need to decide: are we going nuclear and how are we going nuclear?
"There are a lot of decisions that we need to make before - like how are we going to fund that and how many megawatts? It can't be that Eskom ... speaks at this point."..