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Cape Town - DA MP Gordon Mackay will request that the energy minister immediately halt the nuclear procurement process as details emerged on Wednesday that South Africa allegedly signed a deal with Russia.
In its legal proceedings against the Department of Energy (DoE), Earthlife Africa (ELA) and the Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute (Safcei) said they received documentation indicating that a binding deal had been signed.
READ: Environmentalists: SA did sign nuclear deal with Russia
"I will thus request that Minister of Energy, Tina Joemat-Pettersson, immediately halt the procurement process until a court ruling and determination are made as to the legality thereof," Mackay said.
According to records provided to ELA and SAFCEI, Joemat-Pettersson "deliberately" incorrectly tabled the Russian Intergovernmental Framework Agreement (IGA) under section 231(3) of the Constitution to avoid having to get Parliamentary approval for it, the DA claimed.
Mackay said that the DA had previously raise the issue in the Portfolio Committee on Energy, when it voiced its concerns as to the legality of the tabling of the IGAs under section 231(3).
"The DA maintained that this tabling was incorrect and indicated that this view was widely held and would lead to litigation by interested and affected parties," he said.
The allegations will be tested in court to determine whether the intergovernmental agreement South Africa signed with Russia in 2014 is binding, and whether it is legally bound to use only Russian nuclear reactors in the procurement process.
If this is found to be true, South Africa did in fact sign a nuclear deal with Russia. If not, the procurement process that is currently unfolding may result in a formal deal, but would allow the process to be shelved with no repercussions.
