South Africa has no secret nuclear deal with foreign countries: Eskom

South Africa has not reached any secret nuclear deal with foreign countries, a senior official at the state-run power utility Eskom said on Thursday.

David Nicholls, Eskom's Chief Nuclear Officer, brushed aside claims that there are secrets and corruption in a possible nuclear deal.

He was speaking at the Nuclear Power Africa conference on the sidelines of the 17th annual African Utility Week (AUW) in Cape Town.

"I don't know of a secret plan" in relation to the South African nuclear program, Nicholls told delegates.

The South African nuclear program, which has met with strong opposition, was one of the highlights at the AUW.

On April 26, the High Court in the Western Cape ruled that the South African government's nuclear program is "unconstitutional and unlawful."

The court ordered the government to set aside the deal which would see the procurement of 9.6 gigawatts of nuclear energy.

The deal is expected to cost 1 trillion rand (about 77.5 billion U.S. dollars).

The SA cabinet approved the deal in December 2015.

Preparations have been already underway for the bidding. Russia and the United States are believed to be front runners to win the bid.

The SA government reportedly has signed an agreement with the Russian state-owned nuclear corporation, Rosatom, to develop nuclear energy.

The SA government has been pursuing the nuclear program to make up power shortage which is expected to stall growth in gross domestic product (GDP).

In response to the court ruling, Nicholls reaffirmed Eskom's position that nuclear energy is not just the most viable option on the table for South Africa's future energy needs, but it is also affordable.

He said however that there has been no procurement process underway.

"We are asked to show the nuclear plans we've signed with the Russians and I say I can't do that. I don't have one. I don't know of a secret plan," he said.

The process has been transparent, yet it is presumed that behind this there is something else, Nicholls said.

Responding to questions on corruption claims with the nuclear deal, he said corruption on the nuclear deal "could be quite challenging in the sense that it is a state to state deal."

"Now if you have multiple deals with small little contracts you tend to get lots of opportunities for corruption," he added.

According to Nicholls, concerns over corruption arise with lots of small deals and when procurement is compartmentalized.

In this case involving Eskom and overseas state organizations with a government to government loan system, opportunities for corruptions would be minimized, Nicholls said.

At the AUW which started on Tuesday, over 7,000 decision makers from over 80 countries were discussing the latest developments, challenges and opportunities in the power and water sectors in Africa.

Over 300 experts were seeking innovative solutions to the continent's energy and water challenges and the exciting opportunities for utilities and industry players.

The conference ended on Thursday. Endit