Legislature a ‘disaster waiting to happen’
waiting to happen”.
“The building is falling apart and it will be a costly exercise to fix all the problems. It may even be more cost effective to demolish the building and rebuild it.”
Staff at the members’ wing, which houses Members of the Provincial Legislature (MPLs) support staff and logistics, were advised to vacate the building by September 15.
“The Legislature will have to carry the additional expenses for the lease of alternative buildings that will have to be entered into on an indefinite basis, as there are no guarantees that the repair work will be completed in the space of six months.”
Members also voiced concerns over pending disruptions to the day-to-day functioning of the Legislature including house sittings and committee meetings.
“All occupants of the members’ wing were supposed to have been relocated to a building in town. Due to a lack of suitable accommodation, this has not been done yet.”
Other staff members stated that there was a proposal to temporarily house legislature employees at the Frances Baard municipal district offices, although nothing had been finalised.
“This may, however, interfere with the functioning of the municipality if their meetings are scheduled to take place at the same time.”
Officials indicated that the ap- pointed contractor was supposed to start work on the premises on September 15 but had not arrived yet.
A tender was advertised in April for the building structural defects, general repair and renovations to the Legislature. The closing date for the submission of tenders was stipulated as May 18.
An amount of R30 million was approved to fix the building during the 2014/15 annual budget of the Northern Cape Provincial Legislature.
The 2014/15 annual report had noted that capital projects that would be undertaken, would include the second phase of the installation of the biometric access control system, the upgrade of the fire detection system, some upgrades to the equipment for the chamber and the purchasing a vehicle for the Speaker.
It stated that the institution was plagued by a lack of funding to “implement critical priorities”, where the challenges included security breaches, break-ins, theft, losses, structural defects of the building, and a lack of suitable permanent accommodation for Members of the Provincial Legislature (MPLs).
As far back as 2012, concerns were raised regarding the structural defects of the building that had reached “alarming proportions and needed urgent intervention”.
An assessment that was conducted in 2014 by the Department of Roads and Public Works on the condition of the Legislature, identified that the building was in a “shocking state of disrepair” and was not complying with the national building regulations.
The building, which was opened in 2003, has been dogged in controversy from the start, where the late Gauteng-based businessman Charles Modise was charged with tender fraud after he was awarded lucrative tenders by provincial government, including the R88 million Northern Cape Provincial Legislature and the R1.5 million parliamentary village that was never built.