The rebuilding and reconstructing of Parliament has started after a fire in 2022 destroyed the historic building. Picture: Leon Lestrade/Independent Newspapers
The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure said work on setting up the dome, which was used during former president Nelson Mandela’s funeral, as a makeshift structure for the National Assembly will take 24 days.
This comes after the department’s director-general Sifiso Mdakane conducted the official site handover for the installation of the dome to the contractor in Cape Town on Tuesday.
The department said eight 2-metre containers, carrying all the necessary accessories and parts, which were transported from the South African National Defence Force storage facility in Pretoria to Cape Town, were handed over to commence construction.
Parliament has been using the Cape Town City Hall and the Good Hope Chamber for some of its sittings after a fire two years ago.
In July, National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza announced that they were considering using the state-owned dome that was utilised during the burial of Mandela in 2013.
Didiza indicated their intention to use the dome when she delivered her Budget policy speech last month.
It was hoped that the dome would have been erected by the time the MPs returned from the constituency period.
The dome, which was used in Mandela’s burial in Qunu in the Eastern Cape and during a Mangaung African Cultural Festival (Macufe) in the Free State, was found to be cracked and needed to be fixed before being moved to Cape Town.
This had prompted the national legislature to erect a marquee for the sittings at a parking lot opposite Parliament.
Department spokesperson Lennox Mabaso said the dome will serve as the temporary home for Parliament for the next 24 months while Parliament was being rebuilt following the fire that gutted it two years ago.
“The dome will be set up at the Niewmeester Parking Site within the parliamentary precinct.
“The project of setting up the Dome is expected to take 24 days from today, which will be on time for the 2025 opening of Parliament and State of the Nation Address,” Mabaso said.
He said the installation of the dome would save the state a lot of money in terms of accommodating Parliament in the next two years.
Mabaso also said the project was being overseen by the chief professional architect from the Prestige Unit of the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure and construction experts.
“The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure will provide regular updates until the completion of this project and official handover to Parliament,” he said.
A presentation to the meeting of the public works portfolio committee showed that the dome will have a 500-seater chamber, 150-seater public gallery, and two 11-seater committee rooms.
The dome will also have a raised floor, ablution facilities connected to the municipal systems, a coffee station and air-conditioning system.
Cape Times