A secret cabinet notice and memorandum reveals that the ANC government wanted to lie to South Africans about the estimated cost of the nuclear deal.

This is according to an article in Rapport, which said former president Jacob Zuma was desperate to push the deal through.

Zuma’s cabinet decided to go ahead with the nuclear deal based on over-optimistic facts, like a projected exchange rate of R10/US$.

Cabinet notes reveal that the lowest nuclear build cost would be around $2,500 per kilowatt power generation capacity, while high-end estimates were between $6,500 and $7,500 per kilowatt.

The secret cabinet notes show that the government wanted to downplay the cost implications of the deal.

The worst case programme cost scenario should not be part of our communication strategy. Prices should not be communicated prior to the procurement process being complete… If any communication has to be done around the cost of the programme, it is better to talk about the low end of the range, whilst referencing where that price is applicable.

According to Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene, he was fired by Zuma because of his resistance to the nuclear deal – which would have ruined the South African economy.

Nene and the nuclear deal

In a statement at the state capture inquiry, Nene said he was pressured to sign the Russian nuclear-power deal by former Energy Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson.

Nene said he refused to sign the agreement, a plan that had been publicly backed by Zuma.

Nene rejected pressure to approve the construction of as many as eight nuclear reactors, which would have the capacity to generate 9,600 megawatts of energy.

The costs of the project would have been astronomical, Nene said, adding that it could have ballooned beyond R1 trillion.

Trying to push nuclear deal through

As recent as November 2017 there were still reports that the department of energy tried to push the nuclear deal through.

The City Press reported on 5 November 2017 that officials at the department of energy were “working weekends” to ensure South Africa gets more nuclear power.

Former Energy Minister David Mahlobo was reportedly forcing the nuclear energy plan into action – which required the finalisation of the country’s reviewed integrated energy resource plan.

Once the plan was complete, Mahlobo could use it to justify the need for nuclear energy using “empirical evidence”.

This happened despite strong opposition against a new nuclear deal for South Africa – including former Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba stating the deal was not needed in the country.

Reporting with Bloomberg