Minister Mantashe suspended the civil society representative on the Board of the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) on 18 January based on a legal opinion provided to him on 10 October 2021. After a long process of letter writing and providing representations including a clear rebuttal of the allegations made against Peter Becker, the Minister wrote the letter below discharging Becker from the Board.
Continue readingMonthly Archives: February 2022
No valid reasons for discharge from Board of Nuclear Regulator
After a long process which began in July 2021 Minister Mantashe provided reasons why he intended to fire the civil society representative on the Board of the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) on 16 February 2022. This was the first time the Minister had committed his reasons to paper, and it provided the first opportunity for Peter Becker, the suspended Board member, to respond to the allegations of misconduct that the Minister was making.
Continue readingCourt order suspended NNR decision making
After Minister Mantashe suspended the civil society representative on the Board of the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR), an urgent court date was set to challenge the legality of this suspension. This appeared to be an open and shut case, and so the Minister through the State Attorney, and the NNR through the firm MacRobert Attorneys, reached out to make a settlement.
As part of the settlement, the Minister agreed to make a decision on whether or not to discharge the community representative, Peter Becker, by 15 February 2022. In the same settlement, the NNR agreed to suspend all decision making and meetings of the Board and subcommittees while the illegal suspension was in effect. This settlement agreement was made an order of the High Court. As it turned out, the Minister did not meet the deadline, and it is not know whether or not the NNR complied with the order.
Continue readingProtestors hand demands to National Nuclear Regulator
On 17 February 2022 a small group of protesters representing civil society organisations gathered outside the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) offices in Tableview to protest the suspension and pending discharge of their representative on the NNR Board. There organisations represented included then Southern African Faith Communities Environment Institute (SAFCEI), Project 90 by 2030, 350Africa.org, Koeberg Alert Alliance and the Federation for Sustainable Environment. Below are some photographs of the event, as well as the list of demands that was handed over.
Continue readingMinister provides reasons for intention to discharge community representative
Previous posts have described how Minister Mantashe suspended the Board member who was representing communities on the Board of the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR). This suspension had no basis in law, and to avoid an urgent court case set for 8 February 2022, a settlement was reached whereby Mantashe agreed to make a decision on whether or not to discharge the Board member by 15 February. Despite this settlement agreement being made an order of the court, Mantashe failed to do so. However, on 15 February he finally laid out his reasons for intending to discharge the Board member. The full letter is included below.
Continue readingSuspension of NNR Board member challenge: settlement reached
Issued by Rodney Anderson, of Save Bantamsklip
Six months after appointing a Board member to the Board of National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) in order to represent affected communities, Minister Mantashe unlawfully suspended Peter Becker on 18 January 2022. He has been a vocal campaigner against nuclear power in South Africa for about 12 years, and when Mantashe appointed him in June 2021 it was widely welcomed as an enlightened step. According to the NNR Act of 1999, the NNR Board also includes a member from the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE), well known for a very pro-nuclear stance.
Continue readingModelling report: Koeberg life extension costs the country
It is generally agreed that nuclear power comes with an inherent risk. What is hotly debated is whether or not there are benefits which outweigh that risk. When it comes to the Koeberg Nuclear Power Plant, Eskom have had the approach that since Koeberg produces electricity at a cost of around R0.45 per kWh, it is a ‘no-brainer’ to spend whatever is needed on a refurbishment to extend the life of the plant beyond the end of its design life in 2024.
A recently released modelling report estimates that doing that refurbishment would result in additional costs of R50bn “from a combination of the actual costs of life extension, additional open cycle gas turbine (OCGT) usage, large key-customer curtailment requests/instructions, and scheduled load-shedding.” It will also increase carbon emissions due to the additional use of OCGTs.
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KOEBERG ALERT ALLIANCE 