Parliament looks to Mandela's funeral dome to host National Assembly during rebuild

The National Assembly building at a media briefing on the progress of the reconstruction project on 9 May 2024. (Photo: Gallo Images / Brenton Geach)

By Rebecca Davis

21 Aug 2024

With the rebuilding of Parliament proceeding at a snail’s pace, an idea that once seemed implausible is now becoming a reality. National Assembly sittings will apparently soon take place in a tent last used for the funeral of Nelson Mandela.

Within the next few months, South African MPs look likely to find themselves coming together for plenary sessions in an unlikely structure: a large white dome beamed around the world in 2013 from the hills of Qunu, where it played host to the funeral of Nelson Mandela.

The idea was first floated in July by Speaker Thoko Didiza – and at the first meeting of the parliamentary committee on public works on Wednesday, officials confirmed it was no longer just a pipe dream.

“We will be bringing it here for the use of Parliament,” Deputy Public Works Minister Sihle Zikalala told MPs.

parliament dome Construction under way at Parliament on 31 July 2024 after it was gutted in early 2022. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla)

Public Works Minister Dean Macpherson previously described to TimesLive something of a scramble to locate the dome, following the suggestion being made by Didiza. It emerged that the structure was being kept in Pretoria.

A presentation which was supposed to be given to the public works committee on Wednesday, but which was postponed due to the no-show of relevant players, gives several further details of how such a tent would work, although it does not specify that the Mandela funeral dome will be used.

It states that such a structure will be erected in the Nieuwemeester parking lot on Roeland Street, across from the parliamentary precinct. It will need to accommodate a 500-seater chamber, a 150-seater public gallery and two 110-seater committee rooms. It should further provide toilets, a coffee station and an air-conditioning system

A similar temporary marquee was used to house the National Assembly debates on President Cyril Ramaphosa’s opening of Parliament address in July.

Documents show that Parliament first issued a request for bids for the construction of “a modular structure in the Nieuwemeester parking facilities to accommodate the business of Parliament” in March 2022.

parliament dome The National Assembly building at a media briefing on the progress of the reconstruction project on 9 May 2024. (Photo: Gallo Images / Brenton Geach)

The invitation stated: “Although this will be a temporary structure, it should be able to last for a period of at least 36 months and should be able to withstand the impact of all current environmental elements.”

Thirty-six months now looks a lot like wishful thinking.

Concern about state of parliamentary rebuilding project

Parliament had been due to receive a briefing on the progress of the parliamentary rebuilding project on Wednesday, but a no-show from Secretary of Parliament Xolile George and officials from the Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA), which is partnering with Parliament on the reconstruction efforts, meant that this did not happen.

DA MP Edwin Macrae Bath, a member of the public works committee, termed the failure of the DBSA officials to attend the meeting “outrageous and deeply disappointing”, given that they were expected to present “critical updates on the restoration of the fire-damaged Old and New Assembly buildings”.

Since Parliament was set on fire on 2 January 2022, allegedly by accused arsonist Zandile Mafe – who was since found not fit to stand trial – progress in reconstructing the affected buildings has been painfully slow.

Read more: Lengthy and complicated construction lies ahead in R3bn Parliament rebuild

A dedicated website set up by Parliament to enable the public to track the trajectory of repairs reminds us of the scale of the damage: “For almost three days, the fire tore through the five floors of the Assembly building and the adjacent Old Assembly Wing, collapsing the roof and destroying hundreds of offices which housed members of Parliament and staff and their contents.”

Walking around the parliamentary precinct today is a very different experience from a few years ago. Large portions are hidden behind scaffolding or boarded up.

Occasions which require large numbers of parliamentarians to come together, such as sittings of the National Assembly or the National Council of Provinces, have necessitated the use of venues around Cape Town ranging from City Hall to the Cape Town International Convention Centre to the Century City Convention Centre, often at a hefty price tag. A lack of available boardrooms means that even committee meetings now routinely have to be held in external spaces such as hotels.

Many MPs have expressed unhappiness about the pace of reconstruction. Demolition of the damaged structures was supposed to be well under way by now, with building slated to begin in August 2024 – but rubble is still being removed.

The presentation scheduled to be given to Parliament on Wednesday states that only 28% of the demolition of the old buildings was complete as of 16 August. The issue there is identified as one of “slow progress by contractor”.

Elsewhere, challenges in terms of compliance with heritage requirements and squabbles over land ownership have been cited as delaying factors.

As it stands, completion of the project is hovering around June 2026 – some four-and-a-half years after the fire.

Public works committee chair Carol Phiri urged a greater sense of urgency around the rebuild on Tuesday, saying that some MPs arriving at the precinct from 7am had nowhere to go in the absence of completed offices.

“By the end of the seventh Parliament we want to be in that house,” Phiri said. DM

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Concern about state of parliamentary rebuilding project