“The perpetual secrecy surrounding the steps to solve our energy crisis continued this morning as the Minister of Energy‚ Tina Joemat-Pettersson‚ appeared before Parliament’s portfolio committee on energy and tabled a ‘classified as secret’ document that will apparently solve South Africa’s energy crisis‚ the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Tuesday.

DA shadow deputy minister of energy Pieter van Dalen said the document was introduced as government’s five point plan to solve the country’s energy crisis.

“However this document … is secretive and classified‚ and cannot be viewed by the public‚” he said in a statement.

“I will therefore today (Tuesday) submit an application‚ in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act‚ to gain access to this full document.”

He said the minister had gone to great lengths to “ensure secrecy when she unilaterally attempted to turn what is an open parliamentary committee into a secret chamber in which neither the media nor members of the public could remain”.

“I then attempted to persuade the minister to declassify the report she has classified — which she outright refused.”

He said his party would also be seeking an urgent explanation from the both the Speaker of the National Assembly‚ Baleka Mbete‚ and leader of government business‚ Cyril Ramaphosa‚ on what basis and following which procedure this document was labelled “classified as secret”.

“It is somewhat bizarre that the minister has a ‘plan’ to fix the energy crisis‚ yet is determined to keep it secret and out of the public domain.

 “This secrecy only serves to further entrench the widely held public opinion that the nuclear build programme‚ South Africa’s largest-ever procurement deal‚ is tainted with secrecy and unfolding behind closed doors.”