NGOs should publicly declare funding as legal bids stall energy projects: Mantashe

Environmental organisations should be made to declare their funding in the same way political parties do if they campaign publicly against non-renewable energy projects and investments, says Gwede Mantashe.

The minister of mineral resources and energy was speaking at Africa Oil and Gas Week at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) on Tuesday . He told delegates South Africa and other African countries have seen major companies pull plans to invest in energy projects due to legal challenges by NGOs stalling their implementation.

“We can’t allow them to have unlimited power. Political parties in South Africa are registered. They must declare who they are funded by. We can’t have organisations preventing development with foreign funds. We must consolidate our resources together to develop,” said Mantashe.

Asked to elaborate during a media briefing later in the day, the minister mentioned institutions such as the Ford Foundation, Open Society and billionaire philanthropist George Soros.

“We know who is paying for that. Ford Foundation, for all those ... When we say these are the people funding these legal challenges, we are not thinking that, we know that. Party funding is about parties being registered and declaring where your funding comes from publicly. All we are saying is that similar rules must be applicable to everybody.”

Meanwhile, on the opening day of Africa Oil Week, environmental activists protested outside the CTICC with mascots of Mantashe and an oil barrel lying in a bed.

When asked when the 2023 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) would be ready and if reports that wind energy would be excluded from the plan were true, Mantashe said to suggest a specific form of energy technology would be excluded before the plan is presented to the cabinet was to make “assumptions”.

“We have completed a model for the IRP. We are now composing a proposal. To say something will be excluded will be putting the cart before the horse. There will be a public consultation process and it will be a multifaceted set of proposals and consultation. It will be tabled before cabinet by the end of October.”

The minister added that even though the government was caught up in a number of legal challenges from NGOs regarding planned drives, including offshore exploration, South Africa was making more progress investing in renewables than many countries on the continent.

He urged Eskom to be ready for the uptake of any and all technology allowed for in the IRP once it is public.

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