Pretoria - Mayor Solly Msimanga is biding his time before commenting on the proposal to relocate Parliament from Cape Town to Pretoria.
The matter, which his predecessor Kgosientso Ramokgopa supported fiercely, saying the city was ready to host Parliament, resurfaced this week when an IFP MP quizzed President Jacob Zuma during a question and answer session in the National Council of Provinces sitting on Tuesday.
Msimanga, speaking through his acting spokesman Matthew Gerstner, said: “The location of Parliament is a matter for national government, and it must only do what is in the best interests of saving public money.”
When Zuma mooted the move during his State of the National Address in February, he cited the high cost of moving large numbers of MPs and officials between Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Pretoria, the administrative capital.
When quizzed further, Gerstner couldn't confirm whether this meant Msimanga - who represents the DA - would go with any decision taken by the ANC national government. Helen Zille, the DA Premier of the Western Cape, was forthright in her support for Parliament to remain in Cape Town.
Gerstner also said the mayor was not going to indicate a preference of location, should Parliament move to Pretoria. Ramokgopa supported the idea of Fort Klapperkop because of its symbolic location and view of the Union Buildings.
During his SONA, Zuma said the matter was a call for Parliament to make. “However, the executive will continue to provide support and information to persuade Parliament to consider the big expenditure item of maintaining two capitals,” he said.
He said the executive expressed its views on the matter given the advantages it thought would accrue to the fiscus.
“In preparation for engagement with Parliament, the Department of Public Works was tasked by the Cabinet to further investigate the merits of relocation,” he said.
He said that an interdepartmental task team comprising government departments that contributed to the optimal functioning of Parliament was also constituted.
The task team comprised of the National Treasury and the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, would look at financial and budgetary implications and the legislative requirements and processes, respectively.
Other departments involved were Public Service and Administration and the Department of Transport, which had a responsibility to look at the logistics and transport implications.
The SAPS was roped in to focus on the security and safety implications, while the Department of Labour investigated the human resource implications. The Department of Public Works will engage with Parliament on a review of previous needs analyses and space audits conducted in 2006/07.
Pretoria News