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The Portfolio Committee on Energy notes and welcomes the views expressed by the Minister of Energy, Ms Mmamoloko Kubayi, on the willingness of public engagement and participation in the debate on nuclear energy. The Committee welcomes this willingness particularly because of the court judgment which set aside the procurement of nuclear energy.

The Committee is also encouraged by the manner in which the Minister has been open and transparent in dealing with a number of questions that arose from members of the Committee, particularly from issues that are facing the department and entities that fall under the responsibility of the department.

The Committee has also noted the Minister's commitment in dealing with challenges that are facing PetroSA. The Committee welcomes the fact that the Minister has been upfront and assured the Committee that there are no plans to privatise PetroSA. This is encouraging as state entities need to be strengthened and capacitated in order to perform optimally and be beneficial to the state. The Committee will wait to hear the details of all the plans the Minister has for PetroSA in due course.

The Committee also welcomes the annual performance plan and strategic plans that were presented by the department today. The Committee is looking forward to the department's budget vote on 19 May 2017, which should provide more details on the plans the Minister has for the department.

Issued by Parliamentary Communication Services on behalf of the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Energy, Mr Fikile Majola