S. African Energy Ministry denies rushing through nuclear expansion program unlawfully

CAPE TOWN, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- The South African Energy Ministry on Thursday denied allegations that it intends to proceed with a nuclear expansion program in violation of a court order.

Such allegations "are aimed at creating panic, misinformation, and misrepresentation of facts and are intended to derail government from reinvigorating the economy," ministry spokesperson Nomvula Khalo said.

He was responding to an urgent high court application on Wednesday by Earthlife Africa Johannesburg (ELA-JHB) and the Southern African Faith Communities' Environment Institute (SAFCEI) in a further attempt to halt what appears to be a rush by the government in decision-making on a nuclear energy deal with Russia.

The two organizations claim that the Ministry of Energy is rushing through the nuclear expansion program despite a court order ordering a halt to the deal.

In April this year, the Western Cape High Court ordered the South African government to set aside the nuclear deal which is "unconstitutional and unlawful" as the government had flouted due process by not first debating in Parliament its decision.

The South African cabinet approved the deal in December 2015 despite strong opposition from environmental groups which question the safety of nuclear energy.

Following the ruling, the government has stated that it would put the nuclear program on hold, at least for the time being.

The allegations which seem to suggest that the government would have proceeded with the nuclear expansion program in an unlawful manner "are malicious and aimed at impugning the integrity of government," Khalo said.

He said the Energy Ministry would like to categorically state that the applicants had no legal basis for launching the urgent application.

The court application was speculative at best as the Energy Minister, David Mahlobo, has never contravened any of the aspects of the court judgment delivered by the Western Cape High Court, said Khalo.

"It is very unfortunate that at the time when all hands should be on the deck to bolster the economy, others are creating side-tracking events," he said.

The time and effort spent as well as financial resources utilized responding to this urgent court application could have been utilized to deliver energy services to the South African citizens, said Khalo.

The government and Energy Minister Mahlobo in particular, will abide by the Constitution and the rule of law, Khalo said.

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

To make up power shortage which is expected to stall growth in gross domestic product (GDP), the South African government has been pursuing the nuclear program that would produce 9.6 gigawatts of nuclear energy at a cost of 1 trillion rand (about 73.4 billion U.S. dollars) Enditem