Gigaba gets to grips with nukes programme

While government continues to deny that it has signed a nuclear deal, it has moved to firm up the proposed nuclear build programme, writes Legalbrief. Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba announced last week that he has called a meeting with Eskom and the Energy and Public Enterprises departments to discuss the state’s nuclear build programme. According to a report in The Citizen, Gigaba revealed this following a meeting with asset managers, bondholders as well as investors ahead of a crucial International Monetary Fund meeting taking place in the US this week. The newly appointed Finance Minister used the meeting with investors to assure them that National Treasury was still on track and that there was no cause ‘for alarm’. Gigaba, responding to questions from reporters, said he will meet with the Minister of Energy as well as the Minister of Public Enterprises to discuss the controversial programme and map a way forward. Gigaba explained that the decision to call the meeting was his and that he was aware that Treasury, together with the Energy Department, had conducted extensive work on ‘the feasibility of the project’, the report states. It says Eskom is yet to brief Gigaba on its nuclear plans. It was earlier reported that the nuclear build programme was expected to kick-off in June once Eskom issued a formal request for proposals from companies to bid for the estimated R1trn contract.