Work on new Parly building on course
THE $140 million Parliament building project at Mount Hampden in Harare is already taking shape and the servicing of the site is in full swing with the project set to be completed in three years, an official has said.
Speaking on the sidelines of a stakeholder meeting with Civic Society organisations and the media at Masvingo hotel on Thursday, the Speaker of Parliament, Advocate Jacob Mudenda, said work on the new Parliament building has taken shape with construction of roads and connection of water having started in earnest.
The meeting was meant to facilitate interface between members of civic society organisations and media practitioners in Masvingo so that they can be able to take constitutional matters to the public domain.
Advocate Mudenda said the Chinese government has pledged to inject $46 million towards the ambitious projects which is set to house about 600 people at any given time.
The development is expected to ease pressure on the oversubscribed Parliament building in Harare’s central business district (CBD).
Advocate Mudenda said the new parliament building, which will be 18 km west of the capital, will address challenges that the August house is facing, especially crowding of legislators.
He said the present scenario in parliament where members do not sit comfortably is not conducive for the smooth operation of the House of Assembly.
“Accordingly, the present parliament building has a capacity of 120 House of Assembly members but houses 270 legislators, a situation which has seen members sharing seats and microphones,” said Advocate Mudenda.
“The construction of a new parliament building in Mount Hampden is on course with the preliminary civil works that include road construction having already taken off. Electricity is also connected, so is the water system, as we speak. All things being equal, we expect the project to be complete within a space of three years,” said Adv Mudenda.
He hailed the Chinese government for helping Zimbabwe and said the project is likely to cost less than the budgeted figure given that most of the construction machinery used comes from the Government.
“Our all-weather friends, the Chinese government have pledged $46 million for the new parliament building in Mount Hampden. The initial total cost of the project is $140 million but chances are high that we will fork out less than that because most of the equipment is not hired.
“The building will have a capacity of 600 members that is if in future we are going to go that far. The Ministry of Local Government, Public Works and Urban Development is seized with the project so is the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development,” he said. — @walterbmswazie2