B Sonjica: South African Young Nuclear Professional Society
Conference

5 November 2007

Officials of government departments
Leaders from nuclear sector organisations
International youth nuclear congress delegates
Honourable guests
Ladies and gentlemen:

It gives me great pleasure to address you on this, the opening day of the
conference for the South African Young Nuclear Professionals Society (SAYNPS).
It is indeed fulfilling to see that the youth of this country are actively
taking part in the growth of the nuclear industry, by firstly organising
themselves into this formidable force and then organising an event of this
nature, to learn from the experts of this industry and to educate the
learners.

I am told that you had a meeting with your international counterparts during
the past two days. I trust that your meeting was a fruitful one. I indeed want
to extend a warm welcome to the members of the International Youth Nuclear
Congress Executive who are here. International collaboration is indispensable
to successful national nuclear programmes and your presence here is giving the
youth of our country the necessary support.

This conference comes a few weeks after the closing of the period for
submission of written comments on the Draft Nuclear Energy Policy and Strategy
Document, which I hope you have all seen and reviewed. I expect to see comments
from the Young Nuclear Professionals of South Africa because it is only through
critical engagement with such policy documents that you can begin to act as a
co-ordinated force for progress.

You, as the representatives of the new generation in the nuclear sector,
should ensure that your voice is heard loudly. The draft policy and strategy
provides a framework in which an extensive nuclear programme can be realised.
We intend increasing nuclear generation capacity to between 13 000 and 20 000
MW electric by 2025. The Nuclear Energy Policy and Strategy also affirms
government's commitment to the development of the South African nuclear
industry. Our vision is to be self sufficient in this sector and in addition
build a globally competitive nuclear industry.

We are indeed in interesting times where nuclear energy is being seen as
part of a solution to address increasing concerns about greenhouse gas
emissions. Security of energy supply through diversity of primary energy
sources remains one of the top priorities of government. Nuclear energy is
increasingly becoming more appealing than other energy sources due to its Base
load characteristics and the fact that there are no appreciable greenhouse gas
contributions from it. In addition there are safety improvements in the designs
of advanced nuclear power plants, the standardised designs provide improved
reliability, economic performance and reduced construction times.

I would like to assure you as the new generation of decision makers,
regulators, operators, scientists and engineers that the outlook on the use of
nuclear energy is very bright. The importance of your involvement in this
expanding nuclear program cannot be overemphasised. I urge you not to be left
behind as the sector advances and in the process do not forget to become
educators and motivators to your brothers and sisters since they are looking up
to you. As evidence of this bright future, the uranium mining industry, for
example has started creating the necessary jobs and I have been informed that
companies like First Uranium are already recovering uranium by processing old
tailings. You also need to maintain a presence as SAYNPS in the uranium mining
industry because a lot of young people are and will continue to work in that
area. We expect the uranium mines to create no less than 5 000 new jobs in the
next five years.

Another strategic area where your input and skills will be required is the
area of beneficiation of uranium. You will be aware that the skills in this
area are very scarce and we will have to develop the skills in the country. The
nuclear sector also requires protection both of intellectual property and
physical installations. The area of nuclear security is one that is going to
need to be bolstered as detractors may want to delay our programmes using
various means. You all need to remain vigilant and ensure that the interests of
South Africa are always protected as you carry on with your tasks.

I am pleased that SAYNPS and the Women in Nuclear South Africa (WiNSA) have
been involved in outreach programmes informing the members of the public about
the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, keep up the good work, and I hope you are
aware that there is still room for improvement in this area, especially in the
wake of what is happening in the world, e.g. in Pakistan, which is a nuclear
country.

Communication on the benefits of peaceful uses of nuclear energy is very
important. This is an area where the nuclear industry is not doing as well as I
expect. I hope the leaders of the nuclear sector organisations are
listening.

Communication efforts even about existing programmes must be improved. I
would like to challenge the young professionals to develop their own
communication plan which will impart correct information about nuclear energy
to our people. Those who peddle untruths about safety issues in this sector
must be challenged. Your silence can be interpreted as your tacit agreement
with those that say your sector is a danger to health and the environment.

The applications of nuclear technology in other sectors (medicine,
agriculture, industry, water) are still not generally known. How many lives are
saved by Nuclear Energy Corporation of South Africa's (Necsa) Network
Termination Point (NTP)? How many farmers in the Western Cape have benefited
from the Sterile Insect Technique? Why are these things not being explained to
ordinary people? I believe that the Nuclear Industry Association of South
Africa should have public education and communication on nuclear energy as a
top priority.

Just tell it like it is. You work in these areas and yet you shy away from
telling people that there are rules and that if you follow these rules like in
any industry you will be okay. The Department of Minerals and Energy is
currently in the process of developing a communication strategy on nuclear
issues. The strategy aims to address the concerns of the public regarding
nuclear and the advantages of using nuclear energy. It is important that civil
society participates in conferences like these in order to assist in educating
the public.

There have been a lot of achievements in this industry which are not known
by our people. South Africa has been actively participating in International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) programmes such as Technical Co-operation and
African Regional Co-operative Agreement for Research, Development and Training
related to Nuclear Science and Technology. These programmes contribute to the
development of nuclear skills in this country and other African States.

I urge you take part in showcasing these projects, acquire the skills and
drive this programme forward. You need to be aware that the nuclear sector has
been identified as one of those that will be prioritised by the Joint
Initiative for Priority Skills Acquisition (JIPSA). In September this year, I
had discussions with the Director-General of the IAEA and we were invited to
send applications for fellowship training. Fellowship training involves
placement of professionals in a country with a more developed nuclear industry,
so that one can get on job experience. This is one of the opportunities that we
are creating which the youth must utilise fully.

We also have opened a channel through the Academy of Sciences in Belarus and
here too there are opportunities for young professionals to undergo specialised
training in areas such as Radiation Protection and Radiochemistry. In the
policy and strategy we have undertaken to develop a comprehensive national
nuclear skills development plan, which will cater for all the skills needs of
the sector.

Allow me to spend a few minutes on what my expectations of young nuclear
professionals are. What are some of the characteristics associated with being
young, being professional, being in the nuclear sector and being part of the
South African society? I associate young with youthfulness and that is
associated with being energetic, inquisitive, ambitious, forward looking,
creative and indeed optimistic. Where are we as members of SAYNPS? On
professionalism I expect you to have a strong work ethic and embrace the Batho
Pele principles. You need amongst others to be honest, dedicated, be empathetic
and act with integrity. I hope in the next two days you will interrogate where
SAYNPS is on this front. Being part of the nuclear sector requires rigour in
everything you do, discipline of the highest order, high level of competence,
awareness of the importance of safety, international collaboration, knowledge
seeking etc. Are our individual actions meeting the expectations of the sector
in which we operate? Let us also examine this and find ways of improving.

SAYNPS must also remain relevant to the South African and indeed African
environment in which it operates. It needs to be transformative in approach
albeit in a methodical way, it must address skills shortages, it must be alive
to the need to address joblessness and poverty in South Africa and
developmental challenges of the continent. SAYNPS must be aware that it needs
to play its part in developing the sector in the rest of the continent. A
constant appreciation of our history as a country will go a long way in
ensuring a bright future. We have recently agreed to assist Namibia in the
development of a nuclear sector infrastructure by amongst others training some
of their officials and helping them put into operation their legislative
framework. Once again you will be called upon to assist in this endeavour. You
should not see this as a burden but as a contribution to the development of the
continent of Africa.

Nuclear Energy is a global issue. To what extent are SAYNPS members aware of
the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP)? You need to be engaged and
interrogate proposals and identify where such proposals conflict with our
policy direction and also areas where they complement our policy. If in the
next two days the issues raised above can form part of your deliberations, I
believe that we will go a long way towards strengthening this organisation and
its mission.

I urge SAYNPS members to play a meaningful role in their organisations. You
need to align your strategies with those of your respective organisations to
avoid duplication of initiatives. I want to see more activity around the youth,
let the industry feel your presence. I also call upon the stakeholders to
support the youth programmes. Remember you signed a pledge to be supportive of
all their objectives. This industry needs us to work as collective to be more
co-ordinated to achieve growth and development.

I would also like to thank our partner department, the Department of Science
and Technology, for their continued support of SAYNPS activities and the
nuclear sector organisations that have also shown support to this organisation,
your efforts will not go unnoticed.

To the learners that are here, do not take this as another day away from
your classroom, but as a beginning of your careers. I encourage you to become
the future experts of this industry. This country needs you more than you
realise. Opportunities are available for you, take advantage of them.

To the International Youth Nuclear Congress Executive members that are here
with us, I hope that you have a successful and great time in our country. Do
not confine yourselves only to the conference venues; do take time to see our
beautiful country. We are looking forward to a more enduring partnership with
you as we move forward.

I would like to take this opportunity to inform you that in September, I
accepted a request from the IAEA Director-General, Dr Mohammed El Baradei for
South Africa to host in partnership with the IAEA, a Regional Conference on
Energy and Water for Sustainable Development, highlighting the role of nuclear
science and technology during the second quarter of 2008. This conference is
expected to attract about 200 delegates from 38 African member states. It will
focus on how nuclear technology can be a solution to address challenges we are
facing in the energy and water sectors. I expect all of you to be part of this,
and to play an active role in that conference.
Let me conclude by expressing my sincere wish that this SAYNPS conference will
achieve that which you intended, but do not let the success of this event limit
you, you can do more.

I would like to see you implement the decisions taken at this
conference.

Thank you.

Issued by: Department of Minerals and Energy
5 November 2007