The South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) announced on Friday that its CEO, Phumzile Tshelane, has had his contract extended for another three years. The decision was taken by the Cabinet. The reappointment of Tshelane was recommended by the Necsa Board, which was appointed in March.

“I am really pleased that cabinet has endorsed our recommendation,” affirmed Necsa chairman Dr Kelvin Kemm. “Mr Tshelane, a nuclear physicist, has had many years of experience in the nuclear field and also in the wider electricity landscape. He has also demonstrated superior management skills in a complex environment. My Board is confident in its selection of Mr Tshelane to serve an additional three years as CEO of Necsa.”

“As the second largest market shareholder in the world for nuclear medicine, which we export to over 60 countries, our international dealings are extremely important,” he highlights. “We are also expanding nuclear technology exports, and mutual technology developments, with a number of countries. Mr Tshelane already has extensive international experience in the field and his business perspective and international reach is well respected in many countries. The Necsa Board considers this to be most important.”

“With the international expansion currently taking place in nuclear development, Necsa is positioning itself to take advantage of both the domestic and international business opportunities which are evident,” he points out. “The Necsa remuneration structure, across the board, is being adjusted to reflect the importance of every member of staff having a personal focus on financial profitability.”

Tshelane has been running the State-owned entity on a month-to-month contract basis for the past year. This situation arose because of disagreements between him and the previous Board during 2015. The current Board is totally different in its composition.

Also last year, Necsa failed to submit its annual financial statements to Parliament. This was the result of a disagreement between the corporation and the Auditor General over the financial provisions for nuclear decommissioning. These differences were subsequently resolved and the financial statements were submitted to Parliament, on time, this year.