Madam Chair, the Minister of Public Enterprises has today announced the downscaling or the effective closure of this controversial money-guzzling enterprise, which, after 10 years, has not yielded any significant breakthrough and for all intents and purposes was an exercise in futility. To say the least, this can be regarded as fruitless and wasteful expenditure.
The Pebble Bed Modular Reactor, PBMR, was established in 1999, and Parliament was told that for an investment of R2 billion, the PBMR had the intention to develop, market and build a high-temperature reactor that would produce 400mW of power. We were also told that about four reactors would be needed to generate the equivalent of the power that Koeberg generates.
This plan was changed, and we were then told that it would now only produce 165mW, and we would need 10 reactors to generate the same power as Koeberg, at a cost of about R30 billion each. You can do the math it would be R300 billion for all 10 reactors. Compare this to a coal-fired power station that can generate 4 600mW and costs R125 billion a fraction of the cost.
For many years, the DA has been calling for its closure. The R10 billion it has cost the taxpayer would have been better spent on building 200 000 much- needed RDP houses, which would have gone a long way in addressing the housing shortage that currently exists.
The Minister tells us that the intellectual property is secured for South Africa and the future. This is not altogether true, as the knowledge that has been developed is worth little, if anything, if the critical mass of scientists to interpret it does not exist.
I am told that the critical mass of informed scientists working for the PBMR company has already resigned and opted for more lucrative positions overseas. Nothing stops them from applying there what they have learned here for the benefit of whomever is their new employer.
The investment of Westinghouse, a US-based company, must be recognised. The questions that will arise is: What will this mean in terms of the intellectual property rights? Is government going to buy their share, as they would surely have as much claim to the intellectual property that they co-funded?
Dit is dus met 'n hartseer gevoel dat ek hier staan en moet vra: Was die kool die sous werd of is dit net goed en nog 'n voorbeeld van hoe die staat geld mors en dan maar net weer verwag van die belastingbetaler om sy gordel stywer te trek en meer belasting vir sy gemors te betaal?
Dit is waarom die gewone man in die straat wat vir 'n salaris werk en belasting betaal, glo dat die regering baie geld het en dat die koevert nog lank nie leeg is nie. Daar is nie tekens van te min geld as dit by die leiers van ons land kom nie en as Ministers glo dat hulle net met duur motors die arm mense kan bedien.
Selfs die werkers in die Parlement is in opstand aangesien hulle eerstehands sien hoe daar deur die leiers met die geld gemors word. Die DA is van mening dat openbare ondernemings wat nie hul mandaat vervul nie, uitgefaseer moet word om die las op die belastingbetaler te verlig. Ek dank u. [Applous.] (Translation of Afrikaans paragraphs follows.)
[It is thus with a feeling of sadness that I have to ask: Was the game worth the candle, or is it just stuff and another example of how government is wasting money and then simply expecting the taxpayer to once again tighten the belt and pay more tax for its mess?
This is why the man in the street, who works for a salary and pays tax, believes that government has a lot of money and the envelope is far from empty. There are no signs of a shortage of money when it comes to the leaders of our country and when Ministers believe that they can only serve the poor when they drive expensive cars.
Even the workers in Parliament are in rebellion as they have first-hand experience of how money is wasted by the leaders. The DA is of the opinion that public enterprises that are not fulfilling their mandates should be phased out in order to relieve the burden on the taxpayer. Thank you. [Applause.]]