Page 5 - Old Assembly News Today

More than a year later, members of parliament (MPs) got a chance to see the damage to the National Assembly after it was gutted by a fire.

Parliament’s newly-appointed project manager, Simon Mashego, says rubble removal will start next month.

Construction work at the fire-ravaged Parliamentary buildings will start next week.

The building will be handed back to Parliament on Monday by the public works and infrastructure department.

Secretary to Parliament Xolile George announced the period and costs for the completion of sections of Parliament that were damaged by fire.

Reconstruction process will take over two years to complete.

Secretary to Parliament Xolile George highlighted on Tuesday that it is envisaged that, through the restoration project of Parliament, South Africa will have a new National Assembly building within 24 months. He was briefing media on the details of the reconstruction process of the sections of Parliament buildings damaged by the fire that broke out last year and which caused extensive damage to key offices, chambers and meeting rooms in the National Assembly and Old Assembly buildings.

Parliament has asked the Development Bank of Southern Africa for help to restore the gutted National Assembly building.

The State of the Nation Address is one of the major general debates of the parliamentary year.

Mafe faces charges of arson and terrorism relating to the January 2022 blaze that gutted the National Assembly chamber and damaged sections of the Old Assembly building.