Zuma assures S. Africans of transparent nuclear program

CAPE TOWN, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- President Jacob Zuma on Friday assured South Africans that the government will pursue a nuclear expansion program in an open, transparent, cost effective and competitive process.

The government is committed to the program which will ensure energy security, Zuma said in response to a parliamentary question about whether he supports the much-criticized nuclear program.

Developing a nuclear program is a government policy to pursue the energy mix which includes coal, nuclear, solar, wind, gas and hydro, Zuma said.

In 1998, the government published the White Paper on Energy which sets nuclear power as part of the energy mix. In December 2015, the cabinet further endorsed a nuclear deal with a foreign country, probably Russia despite strong opposition from environmental groups which question the safety of nuclear energy.

But Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba said in October that South Africa can not afford a major nuclear program due to a lack of money. He also said the program was unnecessary as there's less pressure on the government to deliver more energy into the grid with a slowdown in demand for power due to low economic growth.

His remarks has cast doubt on the nuclear program and led to speculations that the government would probably postpone or even abandon the program.

In apparent response to the speculations, Zuma reiterated the government's position that the policy of developing nuclear energy will not change.

But this program will be undertaken at a pace and scale that the country can afford, Zuma said.

The nuclear energy policy represents the government's commitment to developing an extensive nuclear energy program to ensure energy security whilst reducing the greenhouse gas emissions and increasing job creation opportunities, said Zuma.

Nuclear energy is part of the general energy mix that South Africa is pursuing in order to ensure energy security, he added.

Under the government approved Integrated Resource Plan of 2010-30, South Africa intends to produce 9,600-megawatt nuclear power as part of the energy landscape by 2030.

The program is estimated at a cost of one trillion rand (about 73.4 billion U.S. dollars). Enditem