The Leader of the Opposition Mmusi Maimane (DA) to ask the President of the Republic:
(1). Whether, with reference to his reply to question 2251 on 24 November 2014, he can provide the (a) agendas and (b) minutes for the National Nuclear Energy Executive Coordination Committee (NNEECC) meetings held on (i) 10 October 2013, (ii) 20 May 2014, (iii) 22 July 2014, (iv) 30 July 2014 and (v) 5 September 2014;
(2). whether he can also provide the agendas and minutes for any of the NNEECC meetings that may have taken place since 5 September 2014?
REPLY:
The National Nuclear Energy Executive Coordination Committee (NNEECC) was established by Cabinet in November 2011. The NNEECC is tasked with providing oversight and decision making on the nuclear policy and new build programme.
In June 2014, the National Nuclear Energy Executive Coordination Committee (NNEECC) was converted into the Energy Security Cabinet Subcommittee (ESCS) responsible for oversight, coordination and direction for the activities for the entire energy sector.
I chair this committee and it is comprised of the following members:
1. Minister of Energy, Ms Tina Joemat-Pettersson;
2. Minister of Public Enterprise, Ms Lynne Brown;
3. Minister of International Relation and Cooperation, Ms Maite Nkoana-Mashabane;
4. Minister of State Security, Mr David Mahlobo;
5. Minister of Finance, Mr Nhlanhla Nene;
6. Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Rob Davies;
7. Minister of Economic Development, Mr Ebrahim Patel;
8. Minister or Mineral Resource, Advocate Ngoako Ramatlhodi;
9. Minister of Environmental Affairs, Ms Edna Molewa;
10. Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Ms Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula.
This committee reports to Cabinet and its proceedings and documents are classified under the Minimum Information Security Standard Act (MISS Act) as TOP SECRET. As a result I am unable to share the agenda and minutes of the meetings held by the Energy Security Cabinet Subcommittee.
Mr J. S. Malema (EFF) to ask the President of the Republic:
In light of the fact that the country is on a verge of an economic collapse as a result of the electricity crisis, what exactly does he mean when he says the electricity crisis is caused by apartheid, even after Eskom pointed to scientific and technical challenges caused by the current government, including doubling the costs for the construction of the new power stations?
REPLY:
The end of apartheid and the election of a new democratic Government in 1994 provided the impetus for all policy and institutional shifts underpinning the electrification programme. These shifts were necessary to address the historical racially-based disparity in the provision of key infrastructure.
In 1994, only 34% of South Africans had access to electricity, the majority of which were white people and only 12% of that was rural electrification.
With the dawn of democracy came the added responsibility to connect every household which was denied access to the national grid under the Apartheid regime. This required that additional transmission and distribution infrastructure be made available to cater to the increased demand of connecting millions of households to the grid. This demand continued to increase without the requisite supply options being secured as the new democratic Government had to balance the cost of delivering many key priorities for a democratic South Africa including the provision of adequate health, education infrastructure and basic services to cater for the many millions of South Africans previously not catered for.
Since 1994, over 89% of households now have access to electricity, and universal access remains a key priority. The historic disparity in delivering key infrastructure projects to the majority of South Africans has a significant bearing on the energy challenges experienced today. During apartheid, Eskom’s focus was in meeting the demand of only 5 million citizens. Post-apartheid, this number has grown considerably to over 12, 2 million citizens reducing the reserve margin levels that had been created. Eskom’s technical challenges, in particular, failure to maintain its plants further constrained the power system.
I have not denied that there are challenges in the electricity industry and within Eskom. The Cabinet's Eskom financial support package of September 2014 attests to that. During the State of the Nation Address I further reiterated that resolving energy was the number one priority to enable economic growth. What I focussed on is that, under the democratic dispensation, Eskom has had to meet a demand which had deliberately not been met under Apartheid. Naturally, this led to an extraordinary increase in demand which the successive Democratic Administrations have done everything possible to meet.
Mr J.S. Malema (EFF) to ask the President of the Republic:
In the light of the fact that he has visited Angola a number of times since he assumed office in 2009,
(a) What was the purpose of these visits and
(b) What do ordinary South Africans stand to benefit from these visits?
REPLY:
(a) The Honourable Member is correct. I have visited the Republic of Angola several times since 2009. The main purpose of the visits was to discuss not only bilateral cooperation between South Africa and Angola but also and most importantly it was to discuss issues of peace, stability and security in the Region as well as in the Continent.
For instance, I paid a State Visit to Angola from 19 to 21 August 2009. A year later, President Dos Santos paid his first ever State Visit to South Africa from 13 to 16 December 2010. During these visits, several sectoral bilateral agreements and memoranda of understanding in the fields of trade, industry, energy, transport, culture, among others, were signed.
A number of our visits to the Republic of Angola were also to attend regional meetings convened to discuss peace, stability and security issues in the Great Lakes Region.
(b) The people of South Africa benefit immensely from such visits. The signing of the legal instruments mentioned above, have ensured that there has been a noticeable increase in economic cooperation between South Africa and Angola to the extent that Angola has now become South Africa’s top trading partner in the Continent. We are also pleased that there been an improved security situation in the Great Lakes Region.
Enquiries:
Mac Maharaj
Cell: 079 879 3203
E-mail: macmaharaj@icloud.com
