The Koeberg Alert alliance is an anti-nuclear activist organisation which emerged from an earlier pressure group in Cape Town called "Stop Koeberg" in 1983. Both were intended to halt construction of the first nuclear power station in South Africa at Duynefontein, 28 km NNW of Cape Town: the
Koeberg Nuclear Power Station
Koeberg nuclear power station is a nuclear power station in South Africa. It is currently the only one on the entire African continent. It is located 30 km north of Cape Town, near Melkbosstrand on the west coast of South Africa. Koeberg ...
.
After failing to influence the then ruling
National Party it turned to the broader democratic and anti-apartheid movement, hoping to influence future policy.
Forging strong links with
Earthlife Africa and the emerging Environmental Justice National Forum in the 1990s, it was revitalised in 2009 in opposition to President Thabo Mbeki's
Pebble bed modular reactor
The Pebble Bed Modular Reactor (PBMR) is a particular design of pebble bed reactor developed by South African company PBMR (Pty) Ltd from 1994 until 2009. PBMR facilities include gas turbine and heat transfer labs at the Potchefstroom Campus of ...
programme and the emergence of
"Nuclear-1" (a project to build additional nuclear reactors in South Africa) under President Jacob Zuma.
It currently organises various
anti-nuclear
The anti-nuclear movement is a social movement that opposes various nuclear technologies. Some direct action groups, environmental movements, and professional organisations have identified themselves with the movement at the local, nationa ...
campaigns, participates in the wider
anti-nuclear
The anti-nuclear movement is a social movement that opposes various nuclear technologies. Some direct action groups, environmental movements, and professional organisations have identified themselves with the movement at the local, nationa ...
and
peace movement
A peace movement is a social movement which seeks to achieve ideals, such as the ending of a particular war (or wars) or minimizing inter-human violence in a particular place or situation. They are often linked to the goal of achieving world peac ...
s,
and makes submissions and presentations to formal government processes relating to nuclear power.
Representatives have attended international nuclear power related conferences and events, including in Yokohama, Fukushima and Sweden.
In June 2021, Koeberg Alert's Peter Becker was appointed to the board of the
National Nuclear Regulator. He was fired by the Minister of Minerals and Energy,
Gwede Mantashe
Samson Gwede Mantashe, popularly known as Gwede Mantashe, (born 21 June 1955) is a South African politician and trade unionist, who as of 18 December 2017, serves as the National Chairperson of the African National Congress. He is also a former ...
, in February 2022, citing Becker's opposition to nuclear power.
Notable people
Some notable people active in the organisation:
*Mike Kantey – former secretary
*
Keith Gottschalk – long-standing member
*Peter Becker – revived organisation in 2009
*
David Fig
David Fig is a South African environmental sociologist, political economist, and activist. He holds a PhD from the London School of Economics, with his thesis titledThe political economy of South-South relations: The case of South Africa and Lat ...
See also
*
Campaign Against Nuclear Energy
*
List of anti-war organizations
In order to facilitate organized, determined, and principled opposition to the wars, people have often founded anti-war organizations. These groups range from temporary coalitions which address one war or pending war, to more permanent structured ...
References
External links
Koeberg Alert websiteKoeberg Nuclear Power StationCANE
{{Political history of South Africa
Anti-nuclear organizations
Nuclear energy in South Africa
Environmental organisations based in South Africa
Civic and political organisations of South Africa