Latest news with #Ramphele
IOL News
6 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
Why Parliament's buildings were uninsured during the devastating fire
The restoration and rebuilding work is set to be completed in November 2026 for the New Assembly building and the following month in the Old Assembly just in time for the State of the Nation Address in 2027. Image: Phando Jikelo / Independent Newspapers The buildings of Parliament were not insured when they were gutted by fire three years ago, Secretary to Parliament Xolile George said on Friday. 'The State does not insure immovable property to a large extent as we know, including movable property. There is no insurance. It covers that by placing funds to rebuild whenever there are issues or replaces those assets,' he said. George was responding to questions from MPs when implementing agent, the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) and Parliament briefed the Joint Standing Committee of Financial Management of Parliament on the rebuilding and restoration work. George also said the National Treasury had issued an instruction note in 2007 that clearly stated departments not to insure immovable properties. 'These buildings were not insured at the time of the fire. The replacement is done as per appropriation from the national fiscus to rebuild. We may not know the reasons for that, given the large scale of the portfolio of the state. It might have been informed by these considerations. I don't know,' he added. During the meeting, MPs heard that at least R574 million has been spent to date on rebuilding the buildings gutted by fire in January 2022. DBSA group executive for infrastructure delivery, Chuene Ramphele, said the cost of restoring and rebuilding the gutted buildings was R4.4 billion. 'We have already spent R574 million. These are reconciled by the National Treasury and Parliament,' Ramphele said. He told the MPs that the work done at the precinct had entailed five work streams that included enabling a work safe access route, MPs' offices, rubble removal, asset recovery, and spatial planning and designs, among other things. Ramphele also said the gutted buildings were a crime scene after the devastating fire until 2023. 'It was under police watch. That was lifted in February 2023. Technically, work started in March 2023,' he said. However, Ramphele said there was much significant work completed at that particular time. He said some of the achievements were the demolition work which came to the tune of R73m. The designs were completed in November 2023 and presented to the multi-party forum and chief whips in January 2024. The heritage application process, started in November 2023 in consultation with the South African Heritage Resource Agency, was approved in December 2024 following an intensive consultative process. Ramphele also said the construction and restoration have started after construction companies were appointed following the issuing of a work permit for construction by the Department of Employment and Labour. He said work was happening underground. 'You may not see things really happening. You see cranes. We started the kind of work happening in the basement,' he said. The presentation made to the committee showed that work in the New Assembly and Old Assembly would be completed in November 2026 and January 2027, respectively, just in time for the State of the Nation Address. Ramphele said they projected to commission, test, and hand over the New Assembly in November 2026. 'At that time, the building will be practically complete at 95%. It can really be used.' He stated that the building can be used around January 2027. Ramphele also said the Old Assembly will be commissioned, tested, and handed over in January 2027. He said they were monitoring the timelines closely. 'We really work hard with contractors, consultants, Parliament, and everyone involved to make sure these milestones are achieved and get these buildings completed,' Ramphele said. George echoed the sentiments of MPs that issues of weather could not be used as an excuse for not completing the project unless something unreasonable happened. However, George said a stream of ground was found under the Old Assembly buildings. 'It is known that the stream has always existed. I think the engineers, like any other, would find answers so that it does not materially impact the progress per set timelines. We will be watching that also to ensure the project is completed as planned,' he said. [email protected]
The Citizen
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Citizen
Parliament fire: Over R500m already spent as restoration project now expected to cost R4.4bn
The reconstruction of Parliament is expected to be completed in late 2026. Smoke billows out of the National Assembly building after the fire at Parliament on 2 January 2022 in Cape Town. Picture: Gallo Images More than R500 million has already been spent on repairing Parliament after a fire in 2022, with the total cost of the reconstruction project now projected to reach R4.4 billion. This was revealed during a meeting of the joint standing committee on the financial management of parliament on Friday. MPs received updates on the investigation into the fire that destroyed parliament, which was not insured, as well as progress made in the ongoing restoration efforts. The Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA) provided detailed briefings on the restoration process, while officials from the auditor-general's office dealt with the financial management of the project. Sections of the National Assembly and Old Assembly buildings suffered major damage during the fire on 2 January 2022. The reconstruction is expected to be completed in late 2026 following delays that have extended the original deadline. Zandile Mafe, who admitted to starting the fire and was charged with terrorism and arson, was declared unfit to stand trial in December 2023. Parliament fire: Restoration progress Chuene Ramphele, DBSA group executive for infrastructure delivery, said during the meeting that work was initially stalled as the parliamentary site was treated as a crime scene and secured by police. 'Technically, the work actually started in March 2023,' he told the joint committee. Ramphele said that significant progress had been made since work officially began, including the construction of 155 offices for MPs on Plein Street. 'At this stage, our focus is primarily on the refurbishment,' he said. ALSO READ: Macpherson accused of being 'weak' after saying he's being sidelined over Parliament fire He said that demolition works were completed in March 2024 and came in under budget at R73 million, saving R2 million in the process. Due to design changes and necessary statutory approvals, the initial R2 billion budget had risen. 'When we concluded the detailed designs, you'll see that we started to be very sure of what are the detailed costs,' Ramphele said. 'After the final approval and the designs, the budget for both the refurbishment of the National Assembly and Old Assembly buildings amounted to R3.6 billion.' Watch the meeting below: Ramphele also said the DBSA is applying a risk-monitoring approach to minimise the impact of unforeseen challenges, such as bad weather, given the tight timeline. The revised total budget includes R900 million allocated for upgrading the information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure. National Assembly construction Ramphele said that Raubex Construction was awarded a R2.27 billion contract to work on the new National Assembly wing. 'The site was handed over in April after having appointed [the company] in December 2024,' he said. He noted that the delay was caused by difficulties in obtaining a construction permit from the department of labour. READ MORE: Parliament quietly reclaims its power 'We could not start if we did not have the construction permit and also making sure that the occupational safety issues are intact to avoid any issues because our biggest risk that we want to mitigate is to ensure there is no fatality on the site or any particular kind of incident.' Ramphele told the committee that guarantees are in place to manage the contractor's performance in case of failure to deliver. 'Other things about the project contract management in place is how we are going to manage the penalties and the penalty regimes that are going to apply in that regard.' Timelines At the moment, work is focused on the basement and structural foundations, including support pillars for two additional floors and a new roof structure. 'At this point in time, the work is happening underground,' he said, adding that 'we want a climate resilient Parliament'. Ramphele said that once the three basement levels are complete, the team will begin construction of the first through sixth floors, including beams and slabs. READ MORE: Parliament allocates R71m for medical aid for former MPs This phase will take approximately 12 months, with the project expected to reach 40% completion by April 2026. Interior finishes – including flooring, toilets, offices, committee rooms, the public gallery and a banquet hall – will require another 18 months, pushing projected progress to 75% by September 2026. Ramphele said the full restoration of the new National Assembly is expected to be completed within 20 months. 'At that point, we will be looking at commissioning the building. In particular we are looking at November 2026. So at that time, the building will be practically complete.' Old Assembly restoration According to Ramphele, a contractor for the Old Assembly building was appointed last month. The R1.3 billion project is expected to take 18 months. Ramphele confirmed that the site has already been handed over to the contractor. He concluded with an update on the overall cost of the parliamentary restoration. 'So far, we have already spent, with what has been happening and what we have done, R574 million. 'Ultimately, the entire programme of Parliament is at a cost of around R4.4 billion with the major items being the National Assembly and Old Assembly.' NOW READ: Reconstruction of Parliament to finally begin – will include gym, sauna and daycare centre
