Bring on the nukes

Piet Liebenberg
KOUGA residents who are opposed to the proposed nuclear power station at Thyspunt need to wake up and see what is happening in the region, says the president of the Kouga Black Chamber of Commerce (KBCC), John Bouwer.
Pledging the chamber's full support for the controversial development and speaking on behalf of the KBCC, Bouwer said most of the people who were opposing the development were well-off.
"It is good to wake up with enough resources and to sip cocktails in the afternoon while there are people going to bed hungry every night; people that cannot afford a doctor and have to sit in a line to be helped. There are people in our community with no access to water and toilet facilities. Our own people are suffering in this town while others are screaming ‘No nukes'.”
Bouwer accused the anti-nuclear campaigners of not bothering to attend information meetings.
"Some did not even come to Eskom's participation meetings or did not attend meetings, or presentations held by Eskom during 2011.”
The decision to publicly support the development was taken at the board meeting last Tuesday. They expressed the opinion that the power station would bring immense benefits to the community, and it would be a great opportunity for black business to participate in the mainstream economy. It would foster enterprise development and upliftment in the local community, they said.
"The chamber sees Eskom as an anchor tenant in the Kouga – similar to the mines in Johannesburg and Mosgass in Mossel Bay,” said Bouwer.
"The Eskom investment will be a welcome boost for the country as well as for local people. It will boost the infrastructure which will create jobs during the construction phase and thereafter as well as creating many other opportunities. The demographics in the Kouga according to available census stats shows that 51% are coloureds, 38% blacks and 11% white.
"It is clear that the majority in this town is suffering and that poverty is high. With a high unemployment rate, it is clear that the area needs an economic injection, and the country needs more electricity.”
Bouwer said in his opinion, Jeffreys Bay had deteriorated in the last decade. He said very few people who finished school in the last four years could find employment and that the chokka industry was having one of its worst seasons yet.
"Many businesses have closed down and throughout the town thousands of homes are for sale. Local business is suffering immensely and yet there is no recovery plan.”
The chamber plans to start with roadshows throughout the Kouga, and via the media to lobby for the proposed investment in the area.
Public meetings will be held at a date still to be announced for the members of the chamber, and for new members who want to join to discuss opportunities in the chamber and new proposed investments in the Kouga.