Funds to fix burnt parliament will not be managed by public works department

Funds to restore parliament buildings gutted by fire earlier this year will be paid directly to the legislature and not to the department of public works and infrastructure which manages the parliamentary precinct and provides infrastructure support to the institution.

“We agreed with the minister that perhaps the transfer payment for this particular purpose should be given to parliament so that parliament at the end of everything accounts for the spending of this allocation for the refurbishment of its institution,” said National Assembly speaker Nosiviwe Mapisanqakula on Friday.

“We also agreed that obviously we would have to look at a procurement system which will allow for an on-time spending of money allocated for this but a procurement system which will ensure that it has proper checks and balances as we move forward on the matter,” she added.

Mapisa-nqakula’s announcement to the joint standing committee on financial management of parliament (JSCFMP), which oversees how parliament spends its money and the conduct of the legislature’s managers, confirmed months of rumours.

Insiders said due to concerns about endemic corruption at public works, parliament wanted to spearhead the revival of its burnt buildings and to be in charge of the allocated funding.

While the funds will be transferred to parliament, the speaker said they had committed to a trilateral arrangement of the project steering committee, consisting of the legislature, DPWI and National Treasury being responsible for driving that process and monitoring the spending of finances allocated for the project.

“Even though we are not yet certain what will be allocated to us next week through the MTBPS, there is some commitment from the minister that there will be some allocation given to us and of course there will be expectation that that allocation will be spent between now and the end of the financial year and that money will be managed or ring-fenced squarely for the restoration of parliament,” said Mapisanqakula.

The figure for restoring the Old Assembly building is estimated at about R300m while the severely damaged National Assembly (new wing) is expected to cost about R1.9bn to repair.

Mapisa-nqakula announced the institution had abandoned a plan to build a modular structure to provide temporary accommodation while repairs were under way.

She said the money — which is more or less the same as the estimate for restoring the Old Assembly building — could be spent on that building. They had agreed with the National Treasury that the restoration of parliament was a separate project from the debate about relocating parliament.

“That is not an item on the agenda right now,” she said, adding that parliament buildings would have to be restored irrespective of whether the institution was relocated. This is an obligation in terms of SA Heritage Resources Agency, said Mapisa-nqakula.

Parliament spokesperson Moloto Mothapo said that parliament’s submission to the National Treasury (to have restoration funding paid to the legislature) was informed by the extraordinary nature of the task at hand, “the exigent magnitude of the project and stronger oversight”.

Meanwhile, the secretary to parliament, Xolile George, said they were expecting to get R180m from the MTBPS to prepare for next year’s state of the nation address, budget and offices for MPS.

He said it was not the full amount they requested but “it will help us sail through until March around unforeseen expenditure”.