Energy Summit - Invitation to Picket
Nosiphiwo Msitweni
ARE YOU INVOLVED IN AN INFORMED WAY IN ENERGY DECISION-MAKING OF GOVERNMENT?
The Department of Minerals and Energy (DME) is planning an Energy Summit on 25-27 September at the Sandton Convention Centre in Gauteng.
The programme is designed to review the 1998 Energy White Paper. Some of the panels planned are about electricity privatization (Regional Electricity Distributors), electricity pricing and governance, petrol, gas and paraffin, competition in the energy markets, access to energy for the poor.
· The DME has not involved civil society in preparations for the summit
· Most civil society organizations and formations have not been invited
· There is no support provided to civil society to attend
· The programme is dominated by government and big business
· The programme focuses on dirty, unsafe energy technologies like petrol, coal and nuclear energy.
· Government is deciding to spend hundreds of billions of rands on a dirty and unsafe nuclear programme when people are still living without houses or health care.
Earthlife Africa Cape Town will be picketing outside the DME’s offices in Cape Town on Tuesday 25th and Wednesday 26th to make clear to government that they cannot make decisions that affect us without our participation.
Please join us in this protest action.
Contact Nosiphiwo Msitweni
021 447 4912/076 2900 320