Macpherson vows to keep close watch on the rebuilding of Parliament
On Thursday afternoon, Public Works Minister Dean Macpherson inspected the fire-gutted building to better understand the scale of what lay ahead.
Rubble was removed from the fire-damaged National Assembly building in Cape Town on 25 July 2024. Picture: Lindsay Dentlinger/EWN
CAPE TOWN - Public Works Minister Dean Macpherson said he would be keeping a close watch on the rebuilding of Parliament and is expecting bi-weekly updates to ensure contractors stick to deadlines.
Rubble is still feverishly being removed from the National Assembly chamber in preparation for the main contractor to be appointed in October.
On Thursday afternoon, Macpherson inspected the fire-gutted building to better understand the scale of what lay ahead.
Public Works Minister Dean Macpherson is inspecting the fire gutted National Assembly building, which is being cleared of rubble in preparation for demolition works. LD pic.twitter.com/1gPxqN1t9T
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) July 25, 2024
It's been two and a half years since the National Assembly building was gutted by fire, and the building is still being cleared of tonnes of mangled furniture and metal pieces from its structure.
The building is literally being kept upright only by a handful of warped pillars.
Although the Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA) is in charge of the rebuild, Macpherson said he would be monitoring their every move.
"I want to be very hands-on, I want a bi-weekly report on progress being done. I want a schedule of costs as we go through every single month. Those will be provided to my office and we are going to play a key oversight role and I'm going to provide that to the portfolio committee as well."
Two billion rand has already been set aside by the Treasury for the rebuild.
Macpherson said that the project had to keep to the deadline and be within budget.
He's due to receive a progress report later on Thursday from the DBSA.