Committee rejects DA claims that R4.4bn Parliament rebuild project was unlawful

The dispute over Parliament’s R4.4 billion rebuild project continues, with the DA demanding answers while the oversight committee defends the appointment of the DBSA.

Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on the Financial Management of Parliament (JSCFMP) has rejected Democratic Alliance (DA) claims that the rebuilding of Parliament was unlawfully handled.

The committee said the project’s governance and implementation arrangements followed engagements between Parliament, the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) and National Treasury.

This comes after the DA called for an urgent parliamentary investigation, claiming there was no evidence of a lawful transfer of responsibility for the rebuild project from the DPWI to Parliament following the January 2022 fire that damaged parts of the parliamentary precinct.

The committee rejected what it called attempts to characterise the rebuilding project as unlawful, saying it had received regular updates on the project since its inception.