The Democratic Alliance (DA) views with suspicion Minister Jeff Radebe’s covert rush to finalise a questionable R14.5 billion oil deal with war-torn South Sudan before the elections.
According to Sunday reports, Minister Jeff Radebe pleaded with his Sudanese counterpart to speed up the signing of the agreement that allows exploration of oil and gas to begin. This despite experts cautioning that crude oil in South Sudan was not compatible with South Africa’s refineries.
The SA taxpayers deserve to know why R14.5 billion of their money will be spent on a deal that appears to be rushed and ill-considered.
The DA will write to Minister Radebe and National Treasury to demand answers as to why the Minister insists on this deal to be sealed before the May 8 Elections and why Minister Radebe is rushing to sign an agreement and allocate budgets for the project before a feasibility study had been done by Treasury, the Central Energy Fund and the Strategic Fuel Fund.
Additionally, DA have always maintained that South Africa cannot afford the large scale burning of diesel in a desperate bid by the ANC to keep the lights on ahead of the elections.
The absence of any concrete information only cements the perception that this another Gupta type deal which will enrich the ANC, and not serve the needs and interests of the country.
The DA will continue to keep a close eye on this and ensure that the full details are made public.