Ulrich Steenkamp shares some of the lessons Earthlife Africa learned from mobilising South Africans to act against the unlawful R1-trillion nuclear deal.
Cape Town: On 26 April 2023, Earthlife Africa Johannesburg joined the Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute (SAFCEI), The Green Connection and other civil society partners, including faith communities – to commemorate the 6th anniversary of civil society’s court victory that stopped government’s R1-trillion nuclear deal. Ironically, the anniversary of the court victory coincides with the 37th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster.
The event was held at the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation and culminated in a peace march and vigil at Parliament.
SAFCEI, along with Earthlife Africa Johannesburg and others are calling for an end to nuclear energy in South Africa and for the cessation of the weaponization of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in the Ukraine. Eskom’s plans to extend the lifespan of Koeberg Nuclear Power Station by another 20 years has also left many South Africans uneasy about the safety of the plant, especially with the ongoing troubles at the aging facility.
Eskom’s plans to extend the lifespan of Koeberg – by another 20 years – has also left many South Africans uneasy about the safety of the plant, especially with the aging facility’s ongoing troubles.
Earthlife Africa’s Program Officer Ulrich Steenkamp says, “It is important for people to know that new nuclear energy plants will not solve our loadshedding issue. These power stations take between seven to ten years (sometimes, even longer) to build and costs could reach into the trillions. And with our country’s poor track record for getting things done, the wait will likely be even longer for South Africans. No, this is not feasible for a country like South Africa, especially with more affordable, safer options available that are quicker (and easier) to install.”
Eskom’s plans to extend the lifespan of Koeberg – by another 20 years – has also left many South Africans uneasy about the safety of the plant, especially with the aging facility’s ongoing troubles.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) raised several “deeply concerning” ‘issues’ mostly related to critical safety issues, with at least nine of these previously highlighted in 2015 and 2019.
Read the article here – for more on the lessons learnt from South Africa’s nuclear deal court case victory and to unpack why Africa no longer needs nuclear energy, especially and why it is better to decommission Koeberg, which is due next year
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