Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, minister of electricity and energy, stated that South Africa plans to build a nuclear plant to generate electricity at ‘a scale and speed’ that they can afford.
This came as the minister was speaking to the media on the sidelines of the Cabinet lekgotla held in Tshwane over the weekend, as reported by BusinessTech.
Also read: Safety concerns rise ahead of Koeberg licence decision
President Cyril Ramaphosa led the first lekgotla of the Government of National Unity (GNU), which set out the programme of action the government would undertake during the seventh administration.
‘In the long term, we need to ensure that we anchor the baseload and nuclear is an important part of that intervention. We are working on the framework for procurement because we don’t want to discredit the process through a procurement process that is not transparent,’ said Ramaphosa.
Find your perfect set of wheels with these incredible deals on cars for under 100k. Find car listings here.
‘We will do it at the scale and speed that we can afford as a country,’ he added.
In terms of issues related to the affordability of electricity, Ramokgopa expressed concern that poorer communities are ‘struggling to keep up with increasing costs’.
‘The poor and those that are located in the townships are finding it exceptionally difficult to afford the increases in electricity. The pricing and the tariff are prohibitive, and a lot of our people across the length and breadth of the country are not in a position to afford electricity,’ said Ramokgopa.
‘Those are challenges on the distribution side…and we know that over a period of time, municipalities have underinvested in the maintenance, replenishment and protection of the distribution grid, and of course, we are paying the price now,’ he added.
Cape {town} Etc discount: Looking for things to do in the city, at half the price? Get exclusive offers here.
Also read:
Picture: Pixabay / Pexels