Necsa and Black Business Council announce a nuclear energy desk

The South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) and the Black Business Council on Monday announced the creation of a business nuclear energy desk following a meeting held in Johannesburg on Friday.

The announcement follows a meeting which discussed preparations for South Africa’s nuclear new build programme and potential opportunities for South African black business.

The country's newest nuclear power plant looks set to be built at Thyspunt, outside St Francis Bay, in the Eastern Cape.

Necsa briefed the BBC on the nuclear new build programme including the government’s plan for massive industrialisation and localisation. The meeting also reflected on the experiences of black business with previous mega projects in South Africa.

“We cannot repeat mistakes of the past.  The nuclear new build programme should lead to industrialisation in South Africa with meaningful participation by black business practitioners,” said Phumzile Tshelane, Necsa’s Chief Executive Officer.

The President of BBC, Ndaba Ntsele said the Black Business Council and its members were ready to take up the opportunities that will arise from the nuclear new build programme. 

“We will not be mere spectators we have to engage government and other stakeholders as the programme unfolds. The programme must have local content at all levels,” said Ntsele.

The nuclear energy desk will offer a platform for black business to interact with Necsa and other relevant entities on the nuclear new build programme. It should be a platform of information sharing, building experiences and networking.

The desk will also provide a platform to identify training needs to develop technical skills to participate in the new build programme. 

The desk is expected to immediately create a directory of black companies ,who can participate in various aspects of the nuclear programme in line with BBC’s objective of increasing black participation in the mainstream economy.