R2K Statement: Parliament – We say NO secret nuclear deal!
The Right2Know Campaign rejects Parliament’s plan to hold its briefing on the nuclear deal behind closed doors.
The proposed nuclear deal has been shrouded in secrecy from the very start. Decisions have been made behind closed doors. Deals have already been struck with Russia and others, in secret and without public consultation and at a reported cost of up to 1 trillion rands.
We have heard repeated promises that any nuclear procurement would be ‘fair and transparent’, including by the ministers of finance and energy. Although we have seen encouraging signs from the chairperson of Parliament’s energy committee, Fikile Majola, that Parliament will use its position to push back against the secretive approach of the Department of Energy, shutting out the public and the media out of Parliament’s briefing on the nuclear deal undermines that positive step forward.
South Africa needs a just, transparent and sustainable solution to our energy needs. We don’t want the nuclear deal and we reject the secretive processes that are driving it.
We call for an end to this secrecy, including the secrecy around the procurement process. We support the court case in the Cape High Court on the 13th and 14th of December by the Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute and Earthlife Africa JHB to ensure that the procurement process is transparent and accountable.
The Right2Know Campaign calls on Parliament to open its doors to the public and push back against state secrecy!
