Keynote address by Ms Buyelwa Sonjica, Minister of Minerals and Energy, at the South African Young Nuclear Professional Society Conference, at the Alpha Conference Centre in Johannesburg

Officials of government departments
Leaders from nuclear sector organisations
International youth nuclear congress delegates
Honourable guests
Ladies and gentlemen:

It gives me great pleasure to address you on this, the opening day of the conference for the South African Young Nuclear Professionals Society (SAYNPS). It is indeed fulfilling to see that the youth of this country are actively taking part in the growth of the nuclear industry, by firstly organising themselves into this formidable force and then organising an event of this nature, to learn from the experts of this industry and to educate the learners.

I am told that you had a meeting with your international counterparts during the past two days. I trust that your meeting was a fruitful one. I indeed want to extend a warm welcome to the members of the International Youth Nuclear Congress Executive who are here. International collaboration is indispensable to successful national nuclear programmes and your presence here is giving the youth of our country the necessary support.

This conference comes a few weeks after the closing of the period for submission of written comments on the Draft Nuclear Energy Policy and Strategy Document, which I hope you have all seen and reviewed. I expect to see comments from the Young Nuclear Professionals of South Africa because it is only through critical engagement with such policy documents that you can begin to act as a co-ordinated force for progress.

You, as the representatives of the new generation in the nuclear sector, should ensure that your voice is heard loudly. The draft policy and strategy provides a framework in which an extensive nuclear programme can be realised. We intend increasing nuclear generation capacity to between 13 000 and 20 000 MW electric by 2025. The Nuclear Energy Policy and Strategy also affirms government's commitment to the development of the South African nuclear industry. Our vision is to be self sufficient in this sector and in addition build a globally competitive nuclear industry.

We are indeed in interesting times where nuclear energy is being seen as part of a solution to address increasing concerns about greenhouse gas emissions. Security of energy supply through diversity of primary energy sources remains one of the top priorities of government. Nuclear energy is increasingly becoming more appealing than other energy sources due to its Base load characteristics and the fact that there are no appreciable greenhouse gas contributions from it. In addition there are safety improvements in the designs of advanced nuclear power plants, the standardised designs provide improved reliability, economic performance and reduced construction times.

I would like to assure you as the new generation of decision makers, regulators, operators, scientists and engineers that the outlook on the use of nuclear energy is very bright. The importance of your involvement in this expanding nuclear program cannot be overemphasised. I urge you not to be left behind as the sector advances and in the process do not forget to become educators and motivators to your brothers and sisters since they are looking up to you. As evidence of this bright future, the uranium mining industry, for example has started creating the necessary jobs and I have been informed that companies like First Uranium are already recovering uranium by processing old tailings. You also need to maintain a presence as SAYNPS in the uranium mining industry because a lot of young people are and will continue to work in that area. We expect the uranium mines to create no less than 5 000 new jobs in the next five years.

Another strategic area where your input and skills will be required is the area of beneficiation of uranium. You will be aware that the skills in this area are very scarce and we will have to develop the skills in the country. The nuclear sector also requires protection both of intellectual property and physical installations. The area of nuclear security is one that is going to need to be bolstered as detractors may want to delay our programmes using various means. You all need to remain vigilant and ensure that the interests of South Africa are always protected as you carry on with your tasks.

I am pleased that SAYNPS and the Women in Nuclear South Africa (WiNSA) have been involved in outreach programmes informing the members of the public about the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, keep up the good work, and I hope you are aware that there is still room for improvement in this area, especially in the wake of what is happening in the world, e.g. in Pakistan, which is a nuclear country.

Communication on the benefits of peaceful uses of nuclear energy is very important. This is an area where the nuclear industry is not doing as well as I expect. I hope the leaders of the nuclear sector organisations are listening.

Communication efforts even about existing programmes must be improved. I would like to challenge the young professionals to develop their own communication plan which will impart correct information about nuclear energy to our people. Those who peddle untruths about safety issues in this sector must be challenged. Your silence can be interpreted as your tacit agreement with those that say your sector is a danger to health and the environment.

The applications of nuclear technology in other sectors (medicine, agriculture, industry, water) are still not generally known. How many lives are saved by Nuclear Energy Corporation of South Africa's (Necsa) Network Termination Point (NTP)? How many farmers in the Western Cape have benefited from the Sterile Insect Technique? Why are these things not being explained to ordinary people? I believe that the Nuclear Industry Association of South Africa should have public education and communication on nuclear energy as a top priority.

Just tell it like it is. You work in these areas and yet you shy away from telling people that there are rules and that if you follow these rules like in any industry you will be okay. The Department of Minerals and Energy is currently in the process of developing a communication strategy on nuclear issues. The strategy aims to address the concerns of the public regarding nuclear and the advantages of using nuclear energy. It is important that civil society participates in conferences like these in order to assist in educating the public.

There have been a lot of achievements in this industry which are not known by our people. South Africa has been actively participating in International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) programmes such as Technical Co-operation and African Regional Co-operative Agreement for Research, Development and Training related to Nuclear Science and Technology. These programmes contribute to the development of nuclear skills in this country and other African States.

I urge you take part in showcasing these projects, acquire the skills and drive this programme forward. You need to be aware that the nuclear sector has been identified as one of those that will be prioritised by the Joint Initiative for Priority Skills Acquisition (JIPSA). In September this year, I had discussions with the Director-General of the IAEA and we were invited to send applications for fellowship training. Fellowship training involves placement of professionals in a country with a more developed nuclear industry, so that one can get on job experience. This is one of the opportunities that we are creating which the youth must utilise fully.

We also have opened a channel through the Academy of Sciences in Belarus and here too there are opportunities for young professionals to undergo specialised training in areas such as Radiation Protection and Radiochemistry. In the policy and strategy we have undertaken to develop a comprehensive national nuclear skills development plan, which will cater for all the skills needs of the sector.

Allow me to spend a few minutes on what my expectations of young nuclear professionals are. What are some of the characteristics associated with being young, being professional, being in the nuclear sector and being part of the South African society? I associate young with youthfulness and that is associated with being energetic, inquisitive, ambitious, forward looking, creative and indeed optimistic. Where are we as members of SAYNPS? On professionalism I expect you to have a strong work ethic and embrace the Batho Pele principles. You need amongst others to be honest, dedicated, be empathetic and act with integrity. I hope in the next two days you will interrogate where SAYNPS is on this front. Being part of the nuclear sector requires rigour in everything you do, discipline of the highest order, high level of competence, awareness of the importance of safety, international collaboration, knowledge seeking etc. Are our individual actions meeting the expectations of the sector in which we operate? Let us also examine this and find ways of improving.

SAYNPS must also remain relevant to the South African and indeed African environment in which it operates. It needs to be transformative in approach albeit in a methodical way, it must address skills shortages, it must be alive to the need to address joblessness and poverty in South Africa and developmental challenges of the continent. SAYNPS must be aware that it needs to play its part in developing the sector in the rest of the continent. A constant appreciation of our history as a country will go a long way in ensuring a bright future. We have recently agreed to assist Namibia in the development of a nuclear sector infrastructure by amongst others training some of their officials and helping them put into operation their legislative framework. Once again you will be called upon to assist in this endeavour. You should not see this as a burden but as a contribution to the development of the continent of Africa.

Nuclear Energy is a global issue. To what extent are SAYNPS members aware of the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP)? You need to be engaged and interrogate proposals and identify where such proposals conflict with our policy direction and also areas where they complement our policy. If in the next two days the issues raised above can form part of your deliberations, I believe that we will go a long way towards strengthening this organisation and its mission.

I urge SAYNPS members to play a meaningful role in their organisations. You need to align your strategies with those of your respective organisations to avoid duplication of initiatives. I want to see more activity around the youth, let the industry feel your presence. I also call upon the stakeholders to support the youth programmes. Remember you signed a pledge to be supportive of all their objectives. This industry needs us to work as collective to be more co-ordinated to achieve growth and development.

I would also like to thank our partner department, the Department of Science and Technology, for their continued support of SAYNPS activities and the nuclear sector organisations that have also shown support to this organisation, your efforts will not go unnoticed.

To the learners that are here, do not take this as another day away from your classroom, but as a beginning of your careers. I encourage you to become the future experts of this industry. This country needs you more than you realise. Opportunities are available for you, take advantage of them.

To the International Youth Nuclear Congress Executive members that are here with us, I hope that you have a successful and great time in our country. Do not confine yourselves only to the conference venues; do take time to see our beautiful country. We are looking forward to a more enduring partnership with you as we move forward.

I would like to take this opportunity to inform you that in September, I accepted a request from the IAEA Director-General, Dr Mohammed El Baradei for South Africa to host in partnership with the IAEA, a Regional Conference on Energy and Water for Sustainable Development, highlighting the role of nuclear science and technology during the second quarter of 2008. This conference is expected to attract about 200 delegates from 38 African member states. It will focus on how nuclear technology can be a solution to address challenges we are facing in the energy and water sectors. I expect all of you to be part of this, and to play an active role in that conference.
Let me conclude by expressing my sincere wish that this SAYNPS conference will achieve that which you intended, but do not let the success of this event limit you, you can do more.

I would like to see you implement the decisions taken at this conference.

Thank you.

Issued by: Department of Minerals and Energy
5 November 2007