Secretary to Parliament Xolile George highlighted on Tuesday that it is envisaged that, through the restoration of Parliament, South Africa will have a new National Assembly building within 24 months.

He was briefing media on the details of the reconstruction 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.

Last year Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced that R2-billion would be set aside for the restoration of the damaged sections.

Parliament and the Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA), through its Infrastructure Delivery Division, have agreed to collaborate with the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) and National Treasury, on the restoration project.

George said the areas of partnership between Parliament and the DBSA for the purpose of this project would include capacity development, technical support and implementation of infrastructure projects.

He also announced that the partnership included refurbishment of burnt Parliament buildings, the Old Assembly building, the link building and the National Assembly Building.

George revealed that the project would include a larger public gallery to accommodate members of the public in line with Parliament's constitutional obligations of public involvement, more office space for MPs and committee rooms.

The partnership will also comprise of security infrastructure upgrades, and conceptualisation and redesign of the Parliamentary precinct.

While the project is envisaged to be completed within 24 months, it will allow a further six months for retention to deal with snags and challenges arising after occupation.

“We are, therefore, confident that this milestone is the first step in restoring the essential services to a more conducive and responsive environment that will address the much-needed upgrade of the security infrastructure and security,” added George.

He said Parliament implemented business continuity management frameworks to minimalise the disruption of the business of Parliament, including securing alternative venues for the joint sitting of the two Houses of Parliament.

Parliament has been using the Cape Town City Hall owing to the extensive damage.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said while this development was a milestone, it had been a slow process as the fire occurred more than a year ago.

Party chief whip Siviwe Gwarube noted that the restoration announcement came after the DA sent a legal demand to Parliament to find a suitable venue for the National Assembly, in particular, to conduct its business while the rebuilding of the precinct continued.

“We will still be expecting the institution to respond to the DA’s legal challenge tomorrow on what the plans are for finding suitable alternative venues for Parliament to fully resume its functions. This is not a nice to-have. It’s a constitutional obligation that we take seriously."