The Secretary to Parliament, Mr Mxolisi George, briefed the media yesterday about Parliament’s initial processes to reconstruct various buildings that were damaged in a fire more than a year ago.
Following the fire, Parliament immediately put various process in place, including:
- A business continuity management framework to minimise disruption to Parliament’s business. The framework included finding alternative venues for the joint sitting of the two Houses for the State of the Nation Address and National Assembly sittings. The City Hall was identified for sittings on an ad hoc basis, while the Good Hope Chamber within the parliamentary precinct was converted for regular National Assembly sittings. Meanwhile, the damaged National Council of Provinces chamber’s ICT system was repaired and the remaining committee rooms were set up to enable both virtual and physical meetings.
- Agencies appointed by the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure have assessed the damage and a team of engineers took three weeks to provide a preliminary assessment. A second team, the Coega Development Corporation, took seven months to complete their assessment, which included a quantification of damage and costs.
- Parliament held talks and negotiations on the restoration project with all stakeholders, chiefly the National Treasury. This resulted in the announcement during the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement of over R2bn allocated for the rebuilding of the gutted buildings and R118m for unforeseen and unavoidable expenditures as a result of the fire and Covid-19.
- Parliament set up a project to investigate and propose to the executive authority and the parliamentary chief whips short- and medium-term accommodation solutions, such as the appropriate venue to serve as a chamber and for the return of MPs for full physical sittings of the National Assembly.
- Recently, the state’s development finance institution has agreed to act as the implementing agent for the rebuilding of Parliament’s damaged buildings.
Mr George also announced that Parliament and the Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA), through its Infrastructure Delivery Division, have agreed to collaborate with other stakeholders, such as the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure and the National Treasury, on the implementation of the project.
The DBSA is the most suitable entity to play this role, Mr George said, given its expertise and experience in providing infrastructure management services, which include design, construction, upgrades, refurbishment and total facilities management to several other organs of state. Furthermore, the DBSA’s regulatory regime is largely compatible with Parliament’s.
As the DBSA as an organ of state is accountable to Parliament, this will enable Parliament to oversee and hold it accountable for the project on an ongoing basis. “This is in addition to the role of the accounting officer, who remains responsible for ensuring that the terms of the agreement are fulfilled,” he emphasised.
Mr George outlined the areas of partnership between Parliament and the DBSA for the purpose of this project, which include:
- Capacity development, technical support and implementation of infrastructure projects.
- Refurbishment of the Old Assembly building, the link building and National Assembly building.
- Removal of the rubble to pave the way for detailed assessments to be conducted. Once the rubble is removed and the assets tagged and secured, the DBSA will undertake assessments and detailed designs of damaged buildings, compile bills of quantities and present budget estimates and an implementation plan to Parliament.
- Remodeling 155 MPs’ offices. Parliament will refurbish the fourth and fifth floors and redesign first, second and third floors of 90 Plein Building to create alternative office space for both Members and employees of Parliament. This will yield 155 offices for Members of Parliament and offices for 1 000 displaced staff members, whilst providing temporary relief in office space during the restoration phase.
The restoration project provides a unique opportunity to ensure that spaces are designed in a manner that best suits the specific needs of a democratic Parliament and to modernise the institution’s digital infrastructure.
It is envisaged that the project will be completed within 24 months and allow a further six months for retention to deal with snags and challenges arising after occupation. “This will take into consideration the requirements of legislation applicable to heritage facilities like Parliament. The implementing agent has relationship with the South African Heritage Resources Agency, which will assist in expediting the approvals.”
22 February 2023
