‘Simply taking too long’ – Macpherson bemoans Parliament reconstruction pace

Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson has expressed frustration over the slow pace of the repair and refurbishment project of Parliament, calling for regular updates on its progress.

Macpherson conducted an oversight visit to Parliament on Thursday to assess the progress made in the rehabilitation of national legislature buildings.

Parts of the National Assembly and the Old Assembly sustained severe damage due to the 2 January 2022 fire.

Since then, Members of Parliament have used the Cape Town City Hall as a temporary venue for parliamentary sittings.

Parliament reconstruction

Speaking to the media, Macpherson indicated that he wanted the contractors handling the reconstruction of the Parliament, which was not insured, to stick to the agreed timelines and budget.

“I have also been clear to the director-general that if there is non-performance by contractors, we’ll hold them accountable.

“Just as in every contractual arrangement between a client and a contractor, there will be penalty fees, [and] we will make them pay those penalty fees, if they delay our projects unnecessarily or if they don’t perform as agreed to in the contract,” he said on Thursday.

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The minister indicated that he has asked for consistent reports on the progress of the project, as well as a monthly cost schedule.

“I want to be very hands-on, I want a bi-weekly report on the progress being done.

“I want a schedule of costs as well as we go through every single month… those will be provided to my office. We going to play a key oversight role,” Macpherson continued.

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He added that he would hand over the reports to Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Public Works and Infrastructure in the interest of transparency.

“We are going to have a lot more eyes on this project… so we can ensure absolute transparency [and] absolute accountability.”

‘Avoid any further delay’

Macpherson stated that the reconstruction process was “simply taking too long”

“The reconstruction of the National Assembly buildings should be moving much faster to avoid any further delay, and therefore additional oversight should be welcomed. We simply cannot wait any longer,” he said in a statement.

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The minister further called on the public to report any corruption allegations should they arise – with evidence – to his office to escalate and investigate.

“We have to work together to rebuild the National Assembly building in such a manner that it is protected from future disasters such as fires and theft, while at the same time making it more accessible to the public to learn about this important institution.”

Parliament budget

The rebuilding of Parliament is expected to cost nearly R3 billion.

At least R2 billion was initially budgeted but increased by more than R900 million as a result of the modernisation of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure.

Construction is expected to begin in August 2024 and end in February 2026.

The entire project was initially expected to be completed in November 2025.

The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) was appointed as the project lead to oversee the reconstruction.

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