IN CONVERSATION WITH ELROY PAULUS
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As a concerned member of the Koeberg Public Safety Information Forum (KPSIF) since 2023, we noted with interest the two emails from Eskom in our inboxes, the day before the date of the briefing. This was an unusual briefing by the Minister of Electricity, Dr Ramokgopa, Chairperson of the Board, National Nuclear Regulator (NNR), and all the head honchos, who rarely share the same platform.
We are always, in the end, trusting of our gut response. Our immediate gut feeling, a good thing, we have learnt, was: “Why are all you grootkoppe SO intent on saying everything is ‘fine-fine?” Just like a journalist, present in the briefing, asked, “Is this a mere ‘storm in a teacup?’”
Minister Sputla is an intelligent man. More correctly, the Minister of Electricity and Energy, Dr. Kgosientsho David "Sputla" Ramokgopa, an eminently qualified South African civil engineer, former Tshwane Mayor (2010–2016), and a former Gauteng MEC, with a PhD in Public Affairs nogal, and Masters degrees in Public Administration and Business Leadership, nogal.
He and his team inferred that, based on the recent set of events at Koeberg Nuclear Power Plant, “we are safe” and should “not worry”. Sorry, Cde Sputla, we, as older citizens, and hopefully wiser, have become adept at reading between the lines. For good reason, and experience, we think and ask aloud, or in our heads, at least “Oh sheeeeet - what are they hiding?!”
I want to be fair to all concerned, though. Like Ferran Torres, the eventual and only goal
scorer in the Spain - Argentina FIFA 2026 Final played on 19 July 2026 - there was one person to whom I paid close attention, viz. The Chief Nuclear Officer, Mr Velaphi Ntuli.
Fair praat, he spoke calmly, confidently, and dare I say courageously, and provided details of the levels of radiation detected. “All contained” he assured us, and alerted us to what levels are dangerous to humans, and specifically to the workers at the facility, calling them professionals. All the while, we wanted to spot the lie, the understatement, and/or that which is disguised or masked, or that which is missed. We think we found some of it.
These are:
The radiation happened in Reactor 2 - the non-functional one,
These reactors had their operations extended over and above the 40 years,
Since the briefing was on a Sunday (19 July), the media sent their relatively inexperienced staff on this issue. So the questions posed after the press briefing were largely seeking clarity, wanting to understand better. Media management and owners should be held to account regarding this oversight.
Civil society activists don’t look at their emails all the time. It could be argued that a WhatsApp group or SMS’s could have been sent, as well. I feel somewhat guilty, since I could have set notifications on my email to alert me immediately.
The incidents occurred on June 30, July 2, and on July 7 - three events - and now we only had a briefing TWO WEEKS later!
Why the delay? If there were a cataclysmic, potentially disastrous event, great harm would have been done. So what are the take-home lessons here?
First off, when we have a situation where there is, by the government's own admission, a breach of norms, a violation of safety standards. ALL of us, government (local, provincial, national), unions, and civil society formations, should be informed and responsive, immediately.
Yes, the alarms went off, even though the actual level of radiation was low and not, according to the Chief Nuclear Officer (CNO), dangerous. But WHY the delay of weeks? That is the question deserving of an answer.
We observed that somehow Minister Ramakgopa NOT ONCE said “South Africa” - he kept saying “this country”. Someone may have been clever (translate: strategic) in advising him to do so, but the reasons, we would argue, are Machiavellian.
We are always, in the end, trusting of our gut response. Our immediate gut feeling, a good thing, we have learnt, was: “Why are all you grootkoppe SO intent on saying everything is ‘fine-fine?” Just like a journalist, present in the briefing, asked, “Is this a mere ‘storm in a teacup?’”
Minister Sputla is an intelligent man. More correctly, the Minister of Electricity and Energy, Dr. Kgosientsho David "Sputla" Ramokgopa, an eminently qualified South African civil engineer, former Tshwane Mayor (2010–2016), and a former Gauteng MEC, with a PhD in Public Affairs nogal, and Masters degrees in Public Administration and Business Leadership, nogal.
He and his team inferred that, based on the recent set of events at Koeberg Nuclear Power Plant, “we are safe” and should “not worry”. Sorry, Cde Sputla, we, as older citizens, and hopefully wiser, have become adept at reading between the lines. For good reason, and experience, we think and ask aloud, or in our heads, at least “Oh sheeeeet - what are they hiding?!”
I want to be fair to all concerned, though. Like Ferran Torres, the eventual and only goal
scorer in the Spain - Argentina FIFA 2026 Final played on 19 July 2026 - there was one person to whom I paid close attention, viz. The Chief Nuclear Officer, Mr Velaphi Ntuli.
Fair praat, he spoke calmly, confidently, and dare I say courageously, and provided details of the levels of radiation detected. “All contained” he assured us, and alerted us to what levels are dangerous to humans, and specifically to the workers at the facility, calling them professionals. All the while, we wanted to spot the lie, the understatement, and/or that which is disguised or masked, or that which is missed. We think we found some of it.
These are:
The radiation happened in Reactor 2 - the non-functional one,
These reactors had their operations extended over and above the 40 years,
Since the briefing was on a Sunday (19 July), the media sent their relatively inexperienced staff on this issue. So the questions posed after the press briefing were largely seeking clarity, wanting to understand better. Media management and owners should be held to account regarding this oversight.
Civil society activists don’t look at their emails all the time. It could be argued that a WhatsApp group or SMS’s could have been sent, as well. I feel somewhat guilty, since I could have set notifications on my email to alert me immediately.
The incidents occurred on June 30, July 2, and on July 7 - three events - and now we only had a briefing TWO WEEKS later!
Why the delay? If there were a cataclysmic, potentially disastrous event, great harm would have been done. So what are the take-home lessons here?
First off, when we have a situation where there is, by the government's own admission, a breach of norms, a violation of safety standards. ALL of us, government (local, provincial, national), unions, and civil society formations, should be informed and responsive, immediately.
Yes, the alarms went off, even though the actual level of radiation was low and not, according to the Chief Nuclear Officer (CNO), dangerous. But WHY the delay of weeks? That is the question deserving of an answer.
We observed that somehow Minister Ramakgopa NOT ONCE said “South Africa” - he kept saying “this country”. Someone may have been clever (translate: strategic) in advising him to do so, but the reasons, we would argue, are Machiavellian.
