Parliament will not proceed with considering a bill that sought to relocate the seat of the national legislature from Cape Town to Pretoria.
This comes after the withdrawal of the Relocation of Swat of Parliament Bill was announced by National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula in the ATC (Announcements, Tablings and Committee Reports) on Wednesday.
Mapisa-Nqakula said the bill was withdrawn in line with the parliamentary rule 334.
The reasons for the withdrawal were not immediately provided, and the EFF could not be reached for comment on Thursday.
But, Secretary to National Assembly, Masibulele Xaso, told the programming committee on Thursday that rule 334 provided for the sponsor of a bill to withdraw it before the second reading of the bill.
“This is a private member’s bill.
The party concerned or a member has opted to withdraw that bill before it goes through the process,” Xaso said.
EFF leader Julius Malema introduced the bill in Parliament in November 2022. It was meant to have been processed by the portfolio committee on public works and infrastructure following a mini-plenary debate.
In his bill, Malema said parliament’s current location created several problems for MPs, the cabinet, government and officials from organs of state and the broader society that wished to participate in legislative and oversight functions performed by the national legislature.
“Parliament is located in the farthest province from the majority of provinces, making it inaccessible to the majority of South Africans, including MPs, who spend a significant amount of time travelling to and from parliament,” he said.
Malema said the relocation of parliament would alleviate the financial burden on the national fiscus and bring the national legislature closer to the majority of the people.
The bill’s memorandum said public participation in parliamentary programmes was limited to individuals and institutions with financial resources, excluding those unable to travel to Cape Town.
The document said it was expected that parliament would spend no less than R4.2 billion on the precinct’s renovation and refurbishment.
“It will cost at least R14 billion to retain parliament in Cape Town.
“A new parliament precinct in the City of Tshwane is estimated to require R7 million, and the move will save the fiscus more than R7 billion in the short to medium term,” the memo said.
However, the bill was opposed by some parties such as the Freedom Front Plus, which deemed the relocation of Parliament would cost billions of rand, which the state coffers could not afford.
Cape Times