$50bn nuclear deal: “Dooming SA to darkness and poverty”

Shortly after news broke last night that South Africa has agreed a $50bn nuclear power plant deal with Russia's State-owned Rosatom, one of the country's leading economists emailed me thus: "All my energy research reports can be put in the trashcan. Please do not quote me by name but I would say: 'Doomed to darkness and poverty'. The nuclear deal will ensure a shortage of electricity for the next 10 years.  It will give ours and the succeeding generations a debt burden that will be nearly impossible to repay.  It will ensure there are rising costs of electricity that will destroy our ability to develop a competitive goods producing industry.  This will ensure certainty of a depreciation Rand and inflationary climate, rising deficits and ultimately a major threat to SOUTH AFRICA'S FUTURE ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND POLITICAL PROSPERITY SUSTAINABILITY AND STABILITY." (his caps not mine). The reaction from members of the Biznews.com community on Twitter and Facebook was immediate and heavily critical. A selection is republished below. – AH  

From my Facebook page:

• Patrick Henry Jay A thief in the company of thieves. He is securing his retirement.

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• Abdulgadir Abdi I CRY FOR SOUTH AFRICA…. why why why…? this is what you expect, when a whole government can't deliver TEXTbooks…

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• Sibusiso Sikhondze I bet a Zuma's son or daughter will have a piece of this cake as it is..!! I don't wanna lie personally I don't TRUST the Russians!! But can someone tell me why would you sleep in the same bed with Putin anyway ???? Really mind boggling!!

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• Luambo Mali-Ghana Munzhedzi We have seen how Putin praise him as Champion of the poor …really Russians give no praise where there is no benefit…we are seeing new trend in Super Powers now slowly replacing West in Africa market share

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• Piet Opperman The Arms Deal was just a practice run.

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• Zukisa Saint Lang and this announcement is made at the time SARB Governor's tenure ends, Kganyago tipped to take over leaving the Treasury a sitting duck. by the time the eight years lapsed what would be the value of R:$? u mean to tell me that Russians cannot built the…See More

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  • 2 Replies · 4 hrs

• Sebastian Czartoryski-Chatov No mystery there. The Russians are under pressure with all the sanctions. Their business model is not to offer quality, but to bribe the decision maker into buying their shoddy goods. They know Zuma is corrupt, so they offer to hear l grease his thieving palms. And all of us will be paying for it.

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• Luambo Mali-Ghana Munzhedzi It makes Good strategic business Planning to be honest…minerals deal in Zimbabwe and Atomic Energy with South Africa

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  • 2 Replies · 3 hrs

• Robert Appelbaum And Alec you forgot that the 3rd biggest gas find in history is in Mozambique. Hey why would we want cheap fuel?

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• Janne Dannerup Ah Alec, don't know whether to 'like' for the fact that you highlight this problem, or abstain because it is so eminently 'dislikeable' that this is being planned. Thanks for your excellent journalism!

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• Hamish Niven Coal is a filthy dirty natural commodity that is an outmoded and damaging fuel for power stations. We have enough sun, wind and coastlines to use sustainable energy. Koburg works nicely, nuclear power is fine – if managed properly, but R50Bn.
  
  Maybe some of the kickback is needed to pay back NKandla?

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• Luambo Mali-Ghana Munzhedzi Very interesting to note also is that even our economic masters that we worshipped for years were not that holly after all and other reason why Asiatic taste is the latest trending in Africa and it is no secret that Mineral deposits in current syStems …See More

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• Lunga Mathe We have Koeberg, which has been a very good pilot project. Nuclear is the future..

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• Musa Phaks it boggles the mind!!

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• Glynn Smithers It was featured on Carte Blanche and the experts consulted spoke of 1trillion

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• • Lunga Mathe That Carte Blanche was a one sided farce probably paid for by losing French (Areeva) or US (Westinghouse) bidders. It was completely biased.

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• John Hill Are we heading for another Arms Deal Commission? The ANC don't seem to learn from their mistakes do they? After the Chernobyl disaster, I sure hope the Russians have…

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• Fathima Dada Despots in our back yard.

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• Jonny Michael Moosa The Chernobyl accident happened cause of a series of operator errors during a test, that was managed by rookies…..This deal will always be in bad taste for those who have made their fortune from the west and continue to do so until today….it is no …See More

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• Lieze Kotze Surely Safafricans can still oppose this? Or do we get the 50bn and the reactors!

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• Gaonewe Mokopakgosi Madness

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• Gooi Los In every country the worker is the engine of econmics

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• Gooi Los zuma must watch out the US will sanction us that will be a major job loss zuma and his cronies can't even deliver a power station on time and on buget
  It a joke to say the least
  What will my poor grandchildren be paying for a KW in 2030?

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• Dana Buys Alec, CroniPolitics 101: the bigger the deal the bigger the kickback. Why do small deals when you can go big like this?!

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• Mo Haarhoff You didn't guess?

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• Lunga Mathe Brics must generate benefits for us, and we have uranium, why not make the best use of what we have..

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• Jamie Carr Please tell me it's April 1st

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• Robert Appelbaum It is seriously insane .

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• Paul H Nel Oh no!!!

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• Sammy Molele Alec Hogg;did you just say cost:benefit??? From who? Did Thuli get us the money JZ ought to pay yet??

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• Ashvir Rohit Get the heck out of here,jeez 50Bill

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• Mosa Lehoko Interesting times ahead

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• Audrey Beynon The mind boggles.

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• Hendrick Shimane Mokitle When you see him smiling: it is not because he has done things right: I don't say he is laughing at his stupid activities or something: I say he is laughing! That was before the trio of Malema, Shivambu and Maimane get into his case! What was he thinking?

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And here's a selection of comments from Twitter: