Parliament has completed fixing 155 offices for members of the national legislature. Picture: Parliament
Secretary to Parliament Xolile George has confirmed that some of the offices that were burnt in a fire last year have been rebuilt and will be available for use by MPs.
George said 155 offices were completed within seven weeks.
However, the work on the rebuilding of the National Assembly and Old Assembly chambers will get under way soon.
Parliament was still committed to ensuring that the restoration of the legislature would be completed by the set deadline of November 2025.
The national legislature said on Monday that rubble was removed from the two chambers that were gutted in a fire in January last year.
Zandile Mafe was charged with setting fire to Parliament.
Parliament said it was determined to rebuild the damaged buildings.
It said a temporary roof was installed to ensure work continues.
“A temporary roof was installed on the sections of the Old Assembly building that were affected by the fire. This will ensure that the interior of the building is protected from elements and that work during construction can continue without disruptions,” said Parliament.
It said the next phase was to fix the National Assembly and Old Assembly chambers.
This will be done to strike a balance between fixing the buildings and protecting the country’s cultural heritage.
“This includes compliance with the National Heritage Resources Act. Of note is Section 27 (18) of this Act, which prohibits, among other things, the altering of any heritage site without a permit issued by the responsible authority,” said Parliament.
It said the National Assembly was completely destroyed by the fire, and rebuilding it would require retaining the “building facade and achieve uniformity with the National Council of Provinces and the Old Assembly buildings and carefully cut out sections that were gutted by fire.”
After the fire in January last year, the Department of Public Works was in the process of removing the rubble.
The Development Bank of Southern Africa was appointed as the project leader in the rebuilding of Parliament.
“Approximately 750 m3 of rubble was removed from the Old and New Assembly buildings,” said Parliament.
Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula said a few weeks ago that they will be able to meet the deadline of completing the restoration process by the end of 2025.
siyabonga.mkhwanazi@inl.co.za
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