finance – African Anthropocene

Can Ramaphosa deal with the sector that ‘made’ him?

Many of SA’s environmental and economic problems stem from dependence on the minerals-energy complex. The president, being a beneficiary of this system, might not care to effect change.

Part two | Zondo’s nuclear deal revelations

In the second of this two-part series, evidence before the state capture inquiry makes it clear that South Africans will shoulder the real cost of adding nuclear generation to the energy mix.

Part one | Zondo’s nuclear deal revelations

In the first of this two-part series, evidence before the state capture inquiry shows how the multibillion-rand deal went ahead despite warnings about the exorbitant cost and danger to health.

Part four | The slow violence of SA’s nuclear waste

The final part of this four-part story outlines the futility of storing waste with radioactive time frames, arguing that nuclear energy should be abandoned in favour of renewables.

Part three | The slow violence of SA’s nuclear waste

This third installment of a four-part story looks at the dangers of keeping high-level waste at nuclear facilities as well as the risks involved in making temporary solutions permanent.

Part two | The slow violence of SA’s nuclear waste

This second of a four-part story details the shambles at the National Radioactive Waste Disposal Institute, which is yet to begin work on its mandate, despite spending millions.

Part one | The slow violence of SA’s nuclear waste

Part one of this four-part story considers the imminent danger involved in storing used radioactive materials, a dilemma growing at a rate of more than 32 tonnes a year.

Part three | Nuclear energy in Africa

The last in this three-part series looks at the cost of nuclear waste disposal, decommissioning power plants and accident clean-ups, and suggests a logical energy-generation alternative for the continent.

Part two | Nuclear energy in Africa

The second in this three-part series looks at how power purchase agreements raise the cost of electricity for consumers and act as major sources of inflationary pressure in economies.