Minister of Public Enterprises Alec Erwin “must apologise publicly” for misleading the South African public about sabotage at Koeberg power station, says the official opposition Democratic Alliance.
Minerals and energy spokesperson Hendrik Schmidt said in a statement on Monday that this week he would introduce a motion in Parliament to censure Erwin “for this gross lack of discretion”.
Erwin is scheduled to address the National Assembly on Thursday afternoon on the bolt that damaged the Koeberg nuclear power station in December last year.
Schmidt said that a preliminary report by the Nuclear Energy Regulator (NER) had shown that negligence, and not sabotage — as initially suggested by the minister — was to blame for the power cuts which hit the Western Cape late last year.
Erwin made the allegation a day before the local government election that was held in March this year.
Schmidt noted that the NER said that Eskom’s failure to heed warnings, along with the poor maintenance and testing of important equipment, meant that Eskom’s licence conditions could be reviewed.
“For a government minister to make unsubstantiated allegations of sabotage at a major national security flashpoint on the eve of an election is very serious.
“It shows what lengths the African National Congress-led government will go to divert attention away from its failure in delivering basic infrastructure and services to the people,” suggested Schmidt.
Erwin had so far shown “no remorse for employing this cheap and grossly reckless electioneering tactic”. Schmidt said if he was not going to apologise to the public then Parliament needed to apply pressure on him to do so.
Erwin caused a storm after he said a bolt — which was left in the rotor and stator mechanisms at Koeberg — did not get there by accident. It led to a controlled shutdown of the plant. He later said that it was caused by “human instrumentality” and had never suggested sabotage.
Erwin recently received a report from the National Intelligence Agency about the circumstances under which the 8cm bolt damaged the mechanisms. — I-Net Bridge