Nuclear Energy Training Centre forces Ministry of Justice to review Nuclear Energy Laws

Zambia is expected to develop a nuclear power plant with capacity to generate 2,000 megawatts of electricity, as announced earlier this year by the Minister of Higher Education Nkandu Luo. The new plant is forcing the Ministry of Justice to revise legislation that governs radioactive material usage in Zambia. 

Professor Luo stated that the power plant will be critical in ensuring sufficient supply of electricity to power the economy for over five decades. 

Through partnerships with the Russian government and the international atomic agency in the nuclear science programme the project is possible. 

“Because of the coming of the nuclear energy program to Zambia, the Ionization Protection Act number 16 of 2005 is currently been revised,  the Nuclear Radiation Safety Bill is undergoing administrative process at the Ministry of Justice to regulate all aspects of nuclear materials in the country” said Boster Siwila, the Radiation Protection Authority Chief Executive Officer. 

It is expected that the bill will be presented to parliament this September before it can be enforced in order to regulate all aspects of nuclear materials in Zambia. 

Siwila spoke to journalists on the sidelines of a 5 day Atomic Energy Agency Mid-Term Coordination Meeting at Cresta Golf View Hotel in Lusaka - a meeting with 24 countries from the African Continent aimed at sharing information on how individuals can prepare for the implementation of radioactive materials. 

Forward planning by the government is important however a plan requires effective implementation for which we can only pray that government will deliver for the Zambian people.