Chairperson, I was told that I have 12 minutes. Maybe I must start where I ended off by indicating that we have realised that, as a department, we need to increase the project management skills of the team in the department. We are working very hard to ensure that we improve.
We have already started, amongst other things, to retrain 72 staff members with a view to enhancing their project management skills, so as to improve service delivery. We are also finalising a new approach to recruitment, selection, and career-pathing and a performance management system, in line with our strategic intent.
In responding to the policy positions of the ruling party, we have established a new branch for clean and renewable energy. It will provide for a dedicated and appropriately resourced focus on areas such as the use of alternative technologies, cleaner carriers and will allow us to exponentially increase the use of renewable energy sources. This will include the work underway in the area of demand-side management and energy efficiency. This development also enables the department to significantly better co- ordinate and enhance its contribution to South Africa's successful hosting of COP 17 in December this year.
We continue to be active in the development of an appropriate response to the scarcity of the required skills in the energy sector through an enhanced participation in the Energy Sector Training Authorities, both at the level of the governing board and Subcommittee of the Sector Skills Plan. This has enabled the department to provide strategic inputs for the development of skills that are critical in terms of the needs of the country.
In line with the Cabinet's decision, the Electricity Distribution Industry, EDI, Holdings ceased operations on 31 March 2011. An administrator has been appointed to execute the winding up and the process is expected to be completed by the end of June 2011.
As directed by Cabinet, we are continuing with some of the programmes in which EDI Holdings was involved, including the rehabilitation of electricity distribution infrastructure. In this regard, the department will establish the capacity that ensures service delivery of uninterrupted power to end users. Proposals in this regard will be submitted to Cabinet for consideration. The required funding model is currently subject to detailed discussions between the relevant government departments and other potential funders. The new, full-time regulator members for the National Energy Regulator of South Africa, Nersa, have been appointed and assumed their duties at the beginning of April 2011. I would like to take the opportunity to welcome Mr Thembani Bukula, Dr Rod Crompton, Ms Phindile Nzimande and Ms Ethel Teljeur and wish them well with their work.
We have embarked on a process of reviewing and amending the National Energy Regulator Act in order to streamline governance at Nersa. Hon members would be central to that process.
As part of its contribution to the public education on nuclear science and technology, the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation, Necsa, built and completed a nuclear science centre which is open to visits by members of the public. At this centre, people can learn more about nuclear energy. I encourage hon members and the public to visit this centre, especially our mathematics and science students because it is central to increasing the skills in this particular sector.
Recognising the need for skills for nuclear expansion, Necsa, with the support of the Department of Trade and Industry, DTI, has started investing in artisan skills which are in great demand in the economy. Security at Pelindaba has also been stepped up considerably and I am confident that security at this nuclear installation is adequately prepared to respond to risks of potential diversion of nuclear materials.
During the past financial year, the National Nuclear Regulator, NNR, intervened decisively to protect the community of Tudorshaft in Mogale City, who were at the risk of being overexposed to radioactivity, which was a consequence of previous mining activity. This year, the NNR will continue to focus on reducing the risk of exposure of workers at the special-case mines that are prone to enhanced levels of radiation.
The NNR is currently undergoing restructuring to ensure that they are well- positioned to respond to the aspirations of government, as outlined in the integrated resource plan, IRP, as well as to respond to the ongoing need to ensure safety at Koeberg Power Station and other nuclear installations.
In consultation with the board of the Central Energy Fund, I will review the structure of the Central Energy Fund group of companies in order to consolidate the various operations, improve efficiencies and take advantage of synergies between the various subsidiaries. A key aspect of this work includes, as I have indicated previously, the repositioning of the national oil company, namely Petroleum Oil and Gas Corporation of South Africa, PetroSA.
Together with the Department of Mineral Resources, we are engaged in finalising the delinking of the African Exploration, Mining and Finance Corporation from the Central Energy Fund group, for it to form the nucleus of a state-owned mining company, in response to the Cabinet's decision of December 2010.
We will be engaging our counterparts in the SADC Council of Energy Ministers on the strengthening of the Southern African power pool, and the proposals for the development of an integrated resource plan for the region. Taking into account that our energy needs are interlinked and intertwined, we can each contribute meaningfully to our energy needs and meeting our challenges.
We continue to participate in structures such as the International Renewable Energy Agency; the International Energy Forum; the International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Co-operation, Ipeec; the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, Unido; the Clean Energy Ministerial; the AU-EU Energy Partnership; and the Council of Energy Ministers of Africa.
Over the recent period, we embarked on a number of international engagements in our quest to find a solution to our energy challenges. Apart from servicing our international obligations in the nuclear energy space, we have a number of other binational and multilateral agreements that we have to honour.
I must hasten to add that our bilateral engagement programme has taken a very practical and implementation-level approach, and we have a number of existing and developing bilateral or joint programmes in place, in support of an array of energy areas. In keeping with our recently confirmed memberships of Brics, we are expected to have a more pronounced role in the international arena.
I want to take this opportunity to thank the hon members for their valued contribution in the debate on Budget Vote No 29. I also believe that some of the issues, raised by hon members, were addressed by my speech, the speech by the Deputy Minister, as well as the most progressive inputs by the chairperson and hon members from the ANC, as usual. I will reply to the issues as a whole.
I want to indicate that one of the important things that I have also picked up in this House is the fact that we seem to all agree that there is space for nuclear in the energy mix of South Africa. The issues raised will be addressed in the plan and brought before Cabinet.
These are issues of cost to the state as well as cost to the consumer; issues related to the radioactive waste management; and also issues related to how we can take the lessons from Fukushima, as well as Chernobyl and Three Mile Island, into consideration.
It is important that we actually use these platforms to educate the public because we are public representatives. We should remember that it is this House, the national Parliament, which adopted the nuclear policy as well as nuclear legislation, rather than coming here and talking about the negatives.
It is important that we realise that we have already formulated the plan to include nuclear in our energy equation. How are we going to meet our long- term mitigation scenario with only renewable energy? We need a base load to buttress what the renewable energy cannot cover.
I heard the hon members refer to and almost repeat the report of Greenpeace, with regard to increasing renewable energy. As I have indicated, as a department, we are making it possible to build our capacity to ensure more renewable energy. However, we are very realistic.
If you look in the Cape Times today, it shows a big crane that is putting up those huge turbine blades on one of the sites. Where does the crane come from? It means that the bulk of the money for development must go to the importation of the equipment we need to lift the crane. It is higher than the buildings here in Cape Town. What have we seen today in the very Cape Times? There is an indication of some of the communities who say yes to renewable energy, but not in their backyards. I think it is important that we realise that these are some of the things that we have to consider. Hon Dudley said that it will take time for the development of nuclear with the objections from various stakeholders, to delay the streaming of nuclear. It is equally so with renewable energy. There is a whole town that is up in arms here in the Western Cape because of the development that needs to take place to ensure renewable energy that would have helped us to meet our target.
That community, predominantly well-endowed and rich people, says no to a turbine as tall as that one, as it will obscure their view. What are we supposed to do? These are some of the things that we have to take into consideration.
We should also realise that South Africa has an energy-intensive industry. We cannot only rely on a source that is based on the elements. I am happy that hon Moloto spoke about the storage capacity. Until we have addressed the technology issue in order to ensure storage, we will not like Greenpeace says, be at 50% by 2030 and at 95% by 2050. Yet it is the very organisation that says that we should not consider hydro as one of the options.
I want to say to hon members that we should really be realistic. We need to keep the lights on. We need to keep our machinery going. The government, led by President Zuma, has set itself a target of five million jobs in 10 years. The Greenpeace report says that we can only have 150 000 jobs by 2050 from renewable energy sources. It means, in essence, that we must go and do the recalculation. It means the jobs that we anticipate from the green energy or green economy will not be realised.
These are the people who devote most of their time to researching the importance of renewable energy. I think that it is important. They said while we want renewable energy, we are not going to realise the objective of creating jobs. We want to ensure that across the value chain, from mining the sources to them being beneficiated to produce energy, we make maximum input for South Africans.
We need to increase the number of companies in South Africa which are responsible for manufacturing solar water heating components. We need to indicate that we have some challenges with the roll-out of solar water heating.
We said that we want to maximise localisation. We can't take the bulk of that money out of the boundaries and borders of South Africa. So whatever we decide or whatever policy directive we take must enable us to give jobs to the people of South Africa so that they can provide for themselves. They are just doing what God said when He chucked out Adam and Eve. He said: "Go and live by the sweat of your brow." It is important to create opportunities for men and women in South Africa to live by the sweat of their brows. [Applause.]
There are quite a number of areas that members have raised which are very important to build the capacity of the department, to respond to the needs of South Africa. We will engage on some of these initiatives. Some of the hon members have written letters and we have engaged with them in my office.
I believe that that type of engagement can continue, as well as the contributions made by members of the ANC in terms of ensuring that our energy security policy is sustained. Had it not been for the ANC adopting an energy mix policy at Polokwane, we would not have had the integrated resources plan.
I want to say that this government is committed to making it possible for South Africa to have access to an uninterrupted, cost-effective supply of power and energy sources. We want to ensure that we contribute.
I want to thank the Cabinet of the Republic as well as the Department of Energy, led by the director-general, the boards and stakeholders. I also want to thank my family for being very supportive in order for me to serve the people of the Republic of South Africa.
Thank you to the chairperson for his leadership, because he always wants to keep us involved. On the eve of the state of the nation address, he kept the director-general and I so involved in the discussions on energy, the security of energy supply and the capacity of the department to deliver, that we could not leave before ten o'clock that night! Thank you. [Applause.]