Friday, March 29, 2024

International Atomic Energy Agency in the country to Zambia’s Nuclear Programme

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Secretary to the Cabinet Roland Msiska
Secretary to the Cabinet Roland Msiska

Secretary to the Cabinet Dr Roland Msiska on Tuesday welcomed an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) duo who paid a courtesy call on him at Cabinet Office.

Mr Christophe Xerri, the Director Division of Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Waste Technology Department of Nuclear Energy and Mr Abdellah Chahid who is in charge of training in nuclear met Dr Msiska and a team of Permanent Secretaries to discuss Zambia’s nuclear programme.

Zambia is in the process of building a Centre for Nuclear Science Technology after recently signing the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract with Russian State Company Rosatom.

Dr Msiska said Zambia’s nuclear programme is for peaceful means and that the IAEA officials have come at the right time because most of the things are yet to be done.

The Centre will have a Nuclear Medicine Centre, Research Reactor Simulator, and a multipurpose irradiation, among other things.
With these facilities, the centre will produce isotopes used in the treatment of cancer and will also irradiate food products for long shelf life.

About nuclear programme fears, Dr Msiska used an analogy that; “… people die of drinking water, yet they do not stop drinking water. The Centre will have a huge capability for research for the development of our country.”

Dr Msiska told the visiting officials that the officers seconded to the Interim Secretariat for Nuclear Science Technology (ISNST) will be transferred to the Nuclear Energy Programme Implementing Organisation (NEPIO) and later to Zamatom, the company that will run the nuclear project in Zambia.

Mr Xerri told Dr Msiska that Zambia needs to build capacity in the nuclear area to be independent and that the IAEA was motivated to help the country.

“We can render support in safety aspects but you need to establish your own model. You need to be a knowledgeable customer. You also need to do a feasibility study and a peer review,” he said.

20 COMMENTS

  1. Zambia couldn’t properly manage dirty markets for public health resulting in cholera but now they can control risky nuclear waste?

    • Unbelievable that this guy even has the title “Dr”. Its a simple case here. No nuclear in Zambia. Why would Zambia all the sudden become a nuclear interest?

    • Twapapata we are not there yet. Let’s first work with solar before we start polluting the country with radioactive material. Do you even have anywhere to take the waste?

    • Just for your info Dr Msiska Australia dumps its nuclear waste in the Gulf of Guinea. Miles away from them. Where do to plan to dump yours?

    • Hatribes Utd Football Club, a nursery club to Monze Swallows Football Club of which Under Five is the Patron of the Club. Well tried HaNegatives.

  2. Indeed, the real issue is that of the management of nuclear waste arising from uranium enrichment. When most European countries are trying to move awy from nuclear energy through the closing down of nuclear reactors and the taking of recourse to other alternative sources of energy, we want to pretend we know better than them. The explosion in the incidence of cases of cancer in Europe after World War II was largely a result of the many new nuclear sites set up for the generation of nuclear energy. One wonders why Lungu’s government cannot exercise caution on this matter the way late Levy Mwanawasa was able to do so over GMO maize. Already, Zambia has the highest incidence of cancer in the Africa and worldwide. Yet we choose to pay a blind eye to this.

  3. Zambia has no capacity to manage this facility.All monies will be redirected or stollen. Every one knows including those in who are not in government that the monies will be stolen.Anyway build it in Eastern province because any failure will be easily mitigated by Dora.

  4. Dr Ronald “nuclear” Msiska
    These energies were supposed to be directed towards correcting or rather reversing the worrying numbers of half baked engineers and technicians from our universities and other institutions of learning.Or else we foresee Chinese running the nuclear program.
    Priorities, capacity ,vision and realistic ambitions are a rarity in Zambia.

  5. Not just Nuclear Energy, we need NUCLEAR WEAPONS, that is the fastest way to resolve the economy. Let Zambia build its nuclear capabilities, people will listen to us with an ardent ear.

  6. “…You also need to do a feasibility study and a peer review,” he said.- WE JUST HOPE THE FEASIBILITY STUDY WILL AND PEER REVIEW WILL SAY “ZAMBIA CAN”T MANAGE THIS PROGRAMME” so the IAEA can declare this cantankerous plan null and void!!

  7. These Corrupt dishonest P.F bulludzi’s – (lizards), will take kickbacks, & start dumping Nuclear waste, from foreign countries in your backyards, under the guise of we are developing nuclear power..
    Trust these money loving, morally bankrupt P.F pompwe’s @ your own peril. You will begin to suffer from nasty mysterious illnesses.
    DON’T EVER SAY YOU WERE NOT WARNED!!

  8. This programme should move from Joker to Real cards.

    Why is the Chief File pusher still in the forefront? By now a proper atomic agency should have been formed and a Zambian Physicist should be the face of it to spur the future and inspire coming generations.

  9. It seems all of you are not just interested in development and technology evolution…you are so used and comfortable with the primitive kind of life.

    We can’t manage this,we can’t manage that…Iyo shani uko some of you are vomiting negative comments without understanding the subject…
    The main reason we didn’t directly go for a nuclear power plant is cause we not stable in as much nuclear issue is involved. …..
    it is a nuclear research center we are starting with…
    Research reactors fulfil diverse needs, including medical and industrial isotope production, elemental analysis, silicon doping, neutron beam based science and applications, education and training, scientific research, and technology development (this includes support for existing…

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