Buoyed by several significant milestones that the National Radioactive Waste Disposal Institute (NRWDI) has achieved over the past year, CEO Riedewaan Bakardien is upbeat about its prospects for shaping the future of South Africa’s nuclear waste management landscape and the back-end management of the nuclear fuel cycle.
In a wide-ranging interview with Engineering News & Mining Weekly, he delved into the NRWDI’s developing plans to strengthen the country’s long-term radioactive waste management capability through critical research and development, skills developing, technology localisation and the creation of high-quality employment opportunities.
Reflecting on his first year in office, Bakardien, who took the helm on April 1, 2025, says that all the metrics are trending in the right direction, with key strategic projects also progressing well.
The NRWDI, whose mandate to ensure that all radioactive waste generated in South Africa is safely managed and disposed of, achieved 100% of the implementation targets outlined in its latest Annual Performance Plan – for 2026/27 – for the first time in its history. It also successfully secured the licence for the full operation of the Vaalputs radioactive waste disposal facility, in the Northern Cape, from the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa).
