New bill pushes to move parliament from Cape Town to Pretoria
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has tabled a new private members bill to the National Assembly, laying the groundwork for parliament to be moved from Cape Town to Pretoria.
The bill was tabled earlier in November and claims that making the move would save the national fiscus around R7 billion, as it would cut back spending on parliamentarians to keep up their lifestyles in two cities.
According to the bill, parliament’s current location in Cape Town creates several problems for Members of Parliament, the executive, government and officials from organs of state, and the broader society that wishes to participate in legislative and oversight functions performed by parliament.
It also noted that the parliament is located in the farthest province from the majority of provinces, making it inaccessible to the majority of South Africans, including Members of Parliament, who spend a significant amount of time travelling to and from the region.
“As a result, participation in parliamentary programmes is limited to individuals and institutions with financial resources, excluding those unable to travel to Cape Town. Parliament and the government spend a lot of money on travel and lodging for Members of Parliament, the Executive, the government, and state officials,” the EFF said.
The party said that the executive is expected to spend around R8 billion on ensuring officials can attend and maintain their duties across the two cities – including plane travel, hotel stays, car hires, and the cost of ministerial houses in both locations – adding that this is a conservative estimate.
On top of this, prior to the January 2022 fires that gutted the parliamentary buildings, the government was planning on spending R4.2 billion on various precinct renovations and refurbishments.
During the Mid-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) in October, minister of finance Enoch Godongwana announced that R2 billion will be set aside for the restoration of the damaged parliamentary buildings caused by a three-day fire that gutted parts of the precinct, including the historic National Assembly Chamber, in January this year.
The fire damaged key offices, chambers and meeting rooms in the National Assembly and Old Assembly buildings.
Following the fire, parliament – together with the department of public works and infrastructure – assessed the extent of the damage caused, the estimated costs and the quantification of the damage.
The assessment was then followed by a submission to the Treasury for a special allocation of funds to restore the buildings over a three-year timeframe.
Including the repairs, the EFF said that it would cost at least R14 billion to retain parliament in Cape Town, while a new parliamentary precinct in the City of Tshwane would cost R7 billion to build – an estimate from 2016.
“The move will save the fiscus more than R7 billion in the short to medium term,” it said.
A leaked 2018 feasibility study, however, showed that the costs of moving parliament to Cape Town would be higher than the EFF’s estimates, with the figure recorded at over R9 billion.
It would also cost Cape Town approximately 3,000 professional jobs. Pretoria, meanwhile, would gain around 2,360 jobs.
Moving parliament from Cape Town to Pretoria has been brought up and supported in the past, with the National Assembly stating in June 2022 that deliberate the proposal and engage with feasibility studies around the idea.
In February 2021, the Joint Standing Committee on Financial Management supported the move. The City of Cape Town has opposed the move, saying the loss of skills will do massive damage to its economy.
Read: The cost of moving parliament to Pretoria – report
