Parliament mulls meeting in a marquee
But Cape Town’s strong winds could blow the idea away
Parliament is expecting to spend between R26m and R48m a year on temporary accommodation for sittings of the National Assembly until its gutted chamber is restored.
This is according to a report that was presented on Wednesday by parliament’s executive managers at a closed meeting of chief whips of the various parties.
The report presented seven options as possible venues, for either outright purchase or rental. The most expensive is erecting a dome-shaped marquee in the Nieuwmeester parking area in front of parliament’s main entrance on the corner of Roeland and Plein streets at R22m a year. Installing broadcast, ICT and audiovisual equipment would cost an additional R25m, and furniture and water come in at an extra R1m.
The other option would be to build a “prefab modular structure” in the same parking lot. However, the cost to put it up hasn’t been determined but ICT equipment rental, furniture and other items would be R26m.
In the presentation to chief whips, parliamentary officials talked up the marquee and the “prefab modular structure” because of huge cost savings on the leasing of broadcast studios, offices, shuttle services and parking.
There would also be no need to outsource catering services as MPs would have nearby parliamentary restaurants available to them.
Those who were at the meeting said no final decision has been taken, but the Nieuwmeester temporary shelter options appear to be popular.
The only concern officials raised about the marquee was Cape Town’s strong winds, which may pose a health and safety risk.
In their document, the officials argued that the “prefab modular structure” would be more durable and remain a parliamentary asset that could be used as a multipurpose facility in the long term.
The total cost of the dome marquee of just over R48m includes R22m for the marquee, R25m for broadcasting and ICT facilities, R875,000 for furniture rental and R210,000 to serve MPs bottled water for 21 weeks.
The Sunday Times reported two weeks ago that parliament was considering using the Cape Town International Convention Centre, but its preliminary price tag was a staggering R1m a day.
It now seems the convention centre is no longer favoured as the cost of providing parking for MPs would be huge.
Returning to the Cape Town City Hall, where President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered his state of the nation address last month, would cost R29m a year.
But the downside is that, like the convention centre, the city hall will not always be available because it gets pre-booked for art exhibitions and concerts.
Western Cape universities with big halls — Stellenbosch University, the University of the Western Cape, the University of Cape Town and the Cape Peninsula University of Technology — were ruled out as they would not always be available for MPs, especially during exam times. Red flags were also raised about the cost of shuttling MPs to these venues.
The Good Hope Centre in the Cape Town CBD was also ruled out because of safety and other compliance issues.
Moloto Mothapo, parliament’s head of communications, said the figures are mere projections and no determination has been made yet as engagements with stakeholders are ongoing.
“Where we may have an idea of the venue cost is with regards to the dome marquee, which is estimated at R22m for 12 months’ rental and R5m for shipping and installation.
“This does not include conferencing infrastructure and other services,” he said.
At a meeting of the National Assembly’s programming committee on Thursday, speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula expressed frustration at the pace at which engineers are assessing the impact of the January parliamentary inferno. She said this is making it difficult for parliament to plan properly and make firm decisions.
Mothapo said that even though MapisaNqakula is anxious about the matter, like all parliamentary stakeholders and the public, she does not want to rush the process or compromise the quality of the work being undertaken.
“It is important that they are afforded the necessary space to do their work and report accordingly,” he said.
Mothapo said parliament officials have also been granted more time to deal with the matter due to its elaborate nature and reliance on external stakeholders for information. “We are hoping the process will be concluded in the next few weeks,” he said.