National debate needed on moving parliament

The debate about the location of the national legislature is as old as our democracy. There are those who call for parliament’s relocation from Cape Town to Pretoria, and others who want to retain the status quo. It is a contentious issue not only within the ruling party, but in society at large. Moving parliament from Cape Town will have detrimental consequences for that city’s economy and may lead to substantial job losses. According to research commissioned by parliament in 2019, which we’re reporting about in our news pages, as many as 3,000 jobs would potentially be at risk.

In contrast, Pretoria stands to benefit handsomely should parliament move to the city. According to research, construction of the new parliament alone would yield more than 6,000 jobs.

But a decision on moving parliament would need to take into account more than just the economics. The question is whether, in our diverse nation with a history of divisions, relocating the legislature would reinforce the nation-building project or potentially undermine it. Whether it helps the project to concentrate institutions of national symbolism in one province, rather than spread them around the nation.

Despite a R9bn price tag attached to the move, the state is projected to save millions in the long run should it go ahead. The estimated cost of having ministers and their deputies shuttling between Pretoria and Cape Town is said to be around R183m.

EFF leader Julius Malema has tabled a private member’s bill to move parliament. But the discussion must not be left to politicians. We need a broad national discussion about whether a country with a long list of competing needs and a shrinking fiscus can afford the cost of the current arrangement.