Cape Town - A sauna, a mothers room, and a nursery as well as a bar are some of the features that will be included by Parliament when more than R2 billion is spent on upgrading and reconstructing the National Assembly.
The National Assembly was gutted during a fire on January 2, 2022. On December 11 last year the Western Cape High Court declared the alleged arsonist, Zandile Mafe, unfit to stand trial.
Yesterday, Parliament presented it’s state-of-the-art reconstruction plan and design of the old and new National Assembly, which will resemble a Yellowwood tree. This design resembles an old African village tradition where people will gather under a tree for meetings.
Parliament secretary Xolile George said the new Parliament building will now have the capacity to hold joint settings and will accommodate 600 members.
He said new offices for staff and MPs would be added along with a spacious public gallery and that Parliament was expected to finish the project by July 2026.
On why the start of the project had been delayed, George said: “While we are talking about phases for the restoration, the greatest part of our energy last year was consumed by providing offices for members of Parliament and we are glad that at the end of July last year, simultaneously, we completed 155 offices.
“Contrary to those saying nothing is happening in Parliament, 155 offices have been provided to members, and additional boardrooms. We are now busy, as we speak, working on the additional 54 offices that we envisage to complete by July. So at the 7th Parliament, when members start, no member of Parliament would say we do not have offices. We’re now busy with identifying additional floors in 90 Plein Street. Starting from floor number eight up to floor number 14 to accommodate those additional offices for members,” said George.
“And this is the work we have to do under asset collection, asset classification, asset tagging and all of that work was meant to be undertaken between May and July. And that work was undertaken except for areas where they were declared as red zone areas and red zones, meaning that structural engineers would have gone to the building and declared an area that is inaccessible from a safety point of view a red zone,” he said.
George said his team had to deal with several things before they could start with the work of reconstruction as Parliament was declared a National Heritage Site, and that matters of national importance, heritage and logistics had to be considered and approved first.
Members of the public are invited to actively engage in shaping the future of the National Assembly by providing input to the design and reconstruction of Parliament.
“We want to hear your vision for what the National Assembly should represent – whether it’s reflecting our diverse cultural heritage, embracing sustainability, or fostering innovation. This is your opportunity to be part of a historic project that goes beyond brick and mortar.”
Cape Argus