Thank goodness for Zuma, Malema and Pravin for without them there would be nothing for the daily press to report on. Certainly there are little snippets of stories of relative insignificance from around the country but since the elections and the Olympics interesting news other than the BIG THREE has been hard to come by. We have a magistrate accusing Zimbabweans of only coming to South Africa to steal which is upsetting a few judges. De Lille is not popular with the ANC in Cape Town for refusing to explain R7-million golden handshakes for two executives and an exonomist predicting five years of doom for South Africa.
Looking at news from our tiny enclave there seems to be even less happening although Nuclear and Thyspunt are back in the news with deadlines for objections due to close on Monday 29th. The following post of an e-Mail appeared on Facebook on research done by Ilze Salswedel, a well-known investigative journalist. She says “please read and NOTE point no 4 especially, as it concerns the St Francis area”. It is in Afrikaans and a rough translation appears below it but it has been translated (not very well – hey I come from KZN) so excuse any grammatical errors or Afrikaans words that have not been translated.
“Hallo almal
Ek pla julle nie gereeld met hierdie soort van ding nie, maar klik asb op onderstaande skakel en volg die maklike stappe om jou beswaar teen die oprigting van ʼn kernkragaanleg by Thyspunt naby Jeffreysbaai aan die regering voor te le. Ek het al die navorsing hieroor vir OUTA gedoen die afgelope twee maande en dis SCARY stuff hierdie. In kort:
1) Die kontrak met Rusland gaan ons land op die minste R1,2 miljard kos. Dit kom neer op ʼn betaling van R100 miljoen per jaar terugbetalings vir 30 jaar. Ons ekonomie kan dit eenvoudig nie bekostig nie. (Ons kort skole, hospitale, huise, paaie eerder as kernkrag.)
2) Die Russiese kontrak is NOOIT deur die parlement gedebatteer nie. Zuma het dit deurgedruk op die dag wat hy Nhlanhla Nene gefire het en dit vinnig-vinnig deur Des van Rooyen en die kabinet laat goedkeur. Die deal is 2 jaar gelede in die geheim met Rusland se ROSATOM gesluit.
3) Daar is tans ʼn hofsaak in die Kaapse Hooggeregshof wat die geldigheid van die kontrak betwis juis omdat dit nie die vereiste parlementere goedkeuring of openbare deelname gekry het nie. Dit sloer al ʼn jaar, en die regering vertraag dit met opset.
4) NOU het Eskom skelm-skelm ʼn kennisgewing in die staatskoerant van die Oos-Kaap (let wel, ook nie nasionaal nie) geplaas om goedkeuring te kry vir die terreinontwikkeling by Thyspunt naby Jeffreysbaai, reg langs ʼn fynbosreservaat. Daar gaan ook uitgebrei word by Koeberg. As die publiek nie beswaar maak nie, gaan dit deurgedruk word tsv die feit dat die kontrak se geldigheid tans nog ondersoek word.
5) Kennisgewings oor tenders vir konstruksie is al ʼn maand gelede ook suutjies uitgestuur.
6) Daar is NET 6 dae vir die publiek om kommentaar te lewer (Eskom het sommer ook die verpligte 30 dae kommentaartyd na 21 dae verminder).
7) OUTA het niks teen kernkrag nie, maar dit is te duur vir SA en heeltemal onnodig. Dit gaan te min energie te laat verskaf. Ons het dit nou nodig, en kan dit op goedkoper maniere kry (bv as hulle ophou geld steel by Eskom en as hulle soos die res van die wêreld belê in renewables). Eskom en die regering kanselleer ook kontrakte met internasionale voorsieners rondom “renewables” soos sonkrag en windkrag. Upington sit bv met reuse sonkragplase wat deur die Spanjaarde gebou is, maar Eskom weier om dit aan die grid te koppel.
Dis maklik om kommentaar te lewer. En jou kommentaar GAAN ʼn verskil maak, want dan moet die hele proses van vooraf begin.
Maak oop op die skakel, en copy sommer OUTA se wetlike (gecheck deur ons advokate) se besware in jou eie blokkie in. Dit deal met al die tegniese goete waaraan Eskom nie voldoen met die kennisgewings nie, asook met die feit dat ons as belastingbetalers nie gekonsulteer is nie. Of sit jou eie kommentaar in.
Hier is die skakel: http://www.outa.co.za/
Kom ons keer hierdie korrupte spul! Deel asb ook hierdie e-pos met jou pelle.
Groete,
Ilse
Rought translated
“Hello everyone
I don’t often bother you with this kind of thing, but please click on link below and follow the easy steps to make your objection against the construction of ʼn Nuclear Power facility at Thyspunt near Jeffreys. I did all the research for Outa done iover the past two months and it’s scary stuff this. In Short:
1) The contract with Russia is going to cost at least R1, 2 Million. This means a re- payment of R100 million year for 30 years an amount our economy cannot afford. (We need schools, hospitals, houses, roads rather than nuclear power.)
2) The Russian contract was never debated in Parliament and Zuma pushed it through on the day he fired Nhlanhla Nene and fast tracked Des van Rooyen and the cabinet to approve the deal. The deal with the Russians was done in secret two years ago.
3 There is currently ʼn court case in the Cape in the supreme court disputing the validity of the contract because neither Parliamentary approval or public participation has been done. It has been dragging on for a year with the government deliberately delaying it.
4 Eskom published (skelm- skelm – or Sly – Afrikaans can be so expressive so we will stick with skelm) notice in the Government gazette of the Eastern Cape (note, not national) placed in order to get approval for the site development at thyspunt , right next to a fynbos reserve. There is also going to be an expansion to Koeberg. If the public does not make any objection, it is going to go ahead in spite of the contracts validity still being investigated.
5 Notifications over tenders for construction were secretly sent out a month ago.
6) THERE are only three days for the public to comment (Eskom has summer also verpligte kommentaartyd 30 days after 21 days by).
7 Outa has nothing against nuclear power, but it is too expensive for SA and not totally needed. It is going to be out of energy too late. We have it now, and can get on goedkoper ways (eg if they stop stealing money at Eskom and if they like the rest of the world invest in renewables). Eskom and government also cancel kontrakte international voorsieners around renewables Like a solar power and windkrag. Upington sitting g with giant sonkragplase by spanjaarde built but eskom refuses to do it on the grid link too.
It’s easy to comment and your comment can make difference
Here is the link:
http://www.outa.co.za/…/comment-eskoms-nuclear-license-app…/
Let’s reverse this corrup ion! Also please share this email with friends.
Greeting,
Ilse”
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