'Rebuilding of fire gutted Parliament will begin next week'

The work to restore and refurbish the gutted buildings at Parliament, will begin on Monday next week. That is according to Niraj Naamdhew, a representative of the Development Bank of Southern Africa.

The bank has been appointed as the implementing agent for the project. A fire destroyed large parts of Parliament, including the National Assembly in January last year.

The bank was part of a team that updated the Joint Standing Committee on the Financial Management of Parliament, about the latest developments on rebuilding and restoring the structures.

During his Medium-Term Budge Policy Statement last year, the Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana allocated two-billion-rand for Parliament’s the rebuilding costs.

”Looking at completion of safe access routes, during March the removal of rubble and debris and temp roof installation to begin in May. It is preceded by quantifying the volume and kind of rubble and debris to be removed from the new and old assembly buildings,” Naamdhew explains.