Nuclear power: was plunging SA into dark worth blocking Putin?
I’m doubtful now. Someone would say we are promoting corruption. I think we should put it another way. Maybe like this: “Mind-boggling questions rushed to mind as Electricity Minister Sputla Ramakgopa dropped the bombshell that the government would begin the process of procuring 2 500MW of new nuclear energy to come on stream in 2032 or 2033.
Just a few moons ago, under former president Jacob Zuma, nuclear energy was taboo. Environmental activists jumped up and down like popcorn. A narrative soon formed that investment in nuclear energy would throw South Africa’s downtrodden deeper into poverty.
So, what now? If Zuma’s nuclear deal was meant to benefit the Russians, why didn’t we use the available checks and balances to clean up the tender, but still ensure additional power sources? Was it necessary to throw the baby out with the bath water? Was it worth it to plunge the country into decades of darkness rather than have Putin’s pals partner with us in finding a solution?
And what if the intended beneficiary was a US company? One must sympathise with the governing ANC’s perspective that some of these so-called civil
society organisations are sleeper agents for global superpowers planted to drive an unpatriotic agenda.
