Johannesburg – The Nuclear Energy Company of SA (Necsa) seems to be getting back on its feet after the appointment of Dave Nicholls as chair earlier this year, following nearly two years of turmoil and repeated changes in directors and management.
But Necsa subsidiary NTP –which operates the Safari nuclear reactor and is the group’s main cash generator – is back in the spotlight, and not for the right reasons. The company has come under fire after hiring three new executives, two of them previously subject to disciplinary hearings, during lockdown.
Majority trade union at Necsa, Nehawu (National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union) says kit is angered by the “reckless decisions of NTP management to continue hiring new external people despite the financial difficulties imposed by the coronavirus situation and the consequences of the lockdown”.
“These external recruitments are also happening at a time when government is rationalising and repurposing state-owned enterprises.
“The Necsa Group has been given instruction to rationalise and repurpose itself. These appointments therefore are undermining that process.”
