ID WELCOMES DECISION TO CANCEL NUCLEAR DEAL
5 DECEMBER 2008-STATEMENT BY LANCE GREYLING, INDEPENDENT DEMOCRATS SPOKESPERSON ON ENERGY AFFAIRS
STATEMENT BY LANCE GREYLING, INDEPENDENT DEMOCRATS SPOKESPERSON ON
ENERGY AFFAIRS
The Independent Democrats welcomes the recent decision by Eskom to shelve the expensive nuclear energy expansion programme.
The ID has been a fierce opponent of this deal and we are very pleased that government has heeded our criticism and decided not to proceed with its proposed hugely expensive nuclear energy expansion programme. The ID has been an extremely outspoken critic of this R700 billion programme since it was first proposed because it would have saddled South Africa with enormous foreign debt and contributed very little to local job creation.
In our response to the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement we reiterated our position when we stated that:
"When it comes to infrastructural spend, the ID has noted the concern in your policy statement that our current infrastructure build is heavily import intensive. In particular Eskom intends spending R700 billion on nuclear plants, which will be built by a foreign company with very little linkages to our local industry. The ID believes that we should rather be looking to invest that money in renewable energy, the vast majority of which can be built by local industries and create far more jobs for our people. It is these types of initiatives that need to be employed in this period so as to ensure that we improve our manufacturing base and create the maximum amount of jobs for each rand that the government spends."
It is therefore heartening to the Independent Democrats that the government has finally taken on board our arguments and decided to shelve these plans. The ID regrets however, the millions of rands of taxpayers' money that has already been spent on a nuclear propaganda exercise as well as on the conducting of environmental impact assessments for nuclear sites.
The ID believes that it is now time for us to plan a very different energy future, one in which energy generation can be decentralized through the use of renewable energy technologies. In order to achieve this vision, the ID has consistently argued for the opening up of the grid through the introduction of renewable energy feed-in tariffs. Energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies are the only short-term solution to our energy crisis as they can be implemented with very short lead times.
In the long term, South Africa needs to position itself as a world leader in certain renewable energy technologies like solar power, which will not only create new jobs and industries but will also reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and put us on the path to a sustainable energy future.
The ID now looks forward to actively contributing to the formulation of an integrated energy plan that can bring such a vision into reality.
For media enquiries please call Lance Greyling, Independent Democrats spokesperson on energy affairs, on 083 298 8553
The Independent Democrats welcomes the recent decision by Eskom to shelve the expensive nuclear energy expansion programme.
The ID has been a fierce opponent of this deal and we are very pleased that government has heeded our criticism and decided not to proceed with its proposed hugely expensive nuclear energy expansion programme. The ID has been an extremely outspoken critic of this R700 billion programme since it was first proposed because it would have saddled South Africa with enormous foreign debt and contributed very little to local job creation.
In our response to the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement we reiterated our position when we stated that:
"When it comes to infrastructural spend, the ID has noted the concern in your policy statement that our current infrastructure build is heavily import intensive. In particular Eskom intends spending R700 billion on nuclear plants, which will be built by a foreign company with very little linkages to our local industry. The ID believes that we should rather be looking to invest that money in renewable energy, the vast majority of which can be built by local industries and create far more jobs for our people. It is these types of initiatives that need to be employed in this period so as to ensure that we improve our manufacturing base and create the maximum amount of jobs for each rand that the government spends."
It is therefore heartening to the Independent Democrats that the government has finally taken on board our arguments and decided to shelve these plans. The ID regrets however, the millions of rands of taxpayers' money that has already been spent on a nuclear propaganda exercise as well as on the conducting of environmental impact assessments for nuclear sites.
The ID believes that it is now time for us to plan a very different energy future, one in which energy generation can be decentralized through the use of renewable energy technologies. In order to achieve this vision, the ID has consistently argued for the opening up of the grid through the introduction of renewable energy feed-in tariffs. Energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies are the only short-term solution to our energy crisis as they can be implemented with very short lead times.
In the long term, South Africa needs to position itself as a world leader in certain renewable energy technologies like solar power, which will not only create new jobs and industries but will also reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and put us on the path to a sustainable energy future.
The ID now looks forward to actively contributing to the formulation of an integrated energy plan that can bring such a vision into reality.
For media enquiries please call Lance Greyling, Independent Democrats spokesperson on energy affairs, on 083 298 8553
