ESKOM GUARANTEES TIED UP
Silence over nuclear because there is no call for more cash — not yet
Pravin Gordhan’s budget makes no mention of nuclear procurement because ‘the process at Eskom is still in its early stages’
The three-year budget tabled by Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan made no mention of nuclear procurement, which the Department of Energy and Eskom continue to champion. The omission came on the same day that civil organisations’ legal challenge to the secrecy of SA’s nuclear procurement programme was back in the High Court in Cape Town. Asked why he had made no mention of nuclear, Gordhan said the procurement process, which will be run by Eskom, was in its early stages, and the matter of funding had not yet arisen. In 2016, the Treasury allocated R200m to the Department of Energy to kickstart the planning process and hire transaction advisers. "The fiscus is not required, except for R200m given in 2016. As progress goes forward, we will let the public know if any fiscus is required," said the finance minister. While Eskom said in 2016 that it could finance the megaproject off its own balance sheet, it has since emerged the company would require fresh guarantees from the government to ...
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