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COPE is concerned that ordinary South Africans will be burdened for generations to come if the conditions on the loan granted by the World Bank to Government for Eskom's expansion program are too onerous.

Furthermore, the fact that the ruling party stands to gain financially from the loan through the relationship between its investment arm, Chancellor House and Hitachi, is indefensible. It amounts to looting the public purse. It is imperative for the ANC to sever all financial ties to the project.

We note the abstentions of, among others, the United States and the United Kingdom on the basis that the South African government has done almost nothing to promote the development of alternatives to coal fired power generation, or viable schemes to mitigate for the environmental impact of fossil fuels. It is estimated that the Medupi power plant will cause 25 million tons of carbon dioxide to be pumped into the atmosphere per annum. Post Kyoto and Copenhagen, this is unacceptable.