The South African government is counting the cost of having the Parliament in Cape Town and the rest of the government in Pretoria and is contemplating moving the parliament to Pretoria.
Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe told the National Assembly on Thursday that was an “expensive practice”, while answering questions from Members of Parliament (MPs) on the issue.
Motlanthe said the possible relocation of Parliament, which caused a massive stir when it was suggested some years ago, was one of the issues being investigated by a ministerial task team looking to curb wasteful government spending.
“The government task team is looking at waste and excesses and looking at the totality of expenses that may require review, and those range from the procurement of vehicles to this expensive practice of having Parliament in Cape Town, when the government is in Pretoria, because cumulatively there’s more wastage.” He said the practice of having two houses for government ministers – one in Pretoria and another in Cape Town – was also a waste of money.
“The old National Party government spent half the year in Cape Town and half the year in Pretoria. Now there’s a lot of commuting and two houses. Ministers should live in one house – that would be a major, major save.” Motlanthe said the task team’s report would go before the cabinet for consideration before any decision was taken on its recommendations.
The possibility of relocating Parliament to Gauteng (Johannesvurg) was first mooted after the ANC came into power in 1994, when it sparked a raging debate about the cost and the impact on the Western Cape and Cape Town in particular.
The main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), slammed the suggestion, saying the government should instead stop spending on “luxuries and excesses for cabinet ministers. “Our view is that we need to see a proper proposal from the government because obviously it would cost billions to construct a parliamentary chamber in Pretoria. “If the government is serious about cost cutting, they should save money where it’s easy to save money like cutting out luxury hotel stays and expensive cars,” DA’s Hill-Lewis said.
Source African Press Agency
