The Joint Standing Committee on the Financial Management has given its\u00a0support to parliament\u2019s move from Cape Town in the Western Cape to Pretoria in Gauteng.<\/p>\n
Co-chairperson of the committee, Dikeledi Mahlangu, said that although the committee is mindful of ‘certain onerous processes’ that still need to be followed before a move could take place, the committee is in full support of the idea.<\/p>\n
“We share the same understanding with those Members of Parliament who hold a view that parliament should move from Cape Town to Pretoria, and we appreciate the fact that a commitment has been made on the side of the institution regarding this matter,” she said.<\/p>\n
Mahlangu added that no further debate was needed on the issue, but that a progress report on the move should be provided on a regular basis.<\/p>\n
The loss of Cape Town as South Africa\u2019s legislative capital may once again be gaining ground, but it is not a new idea.<\/p>\n
The ANC first made the suggestion to move parliament to Pretoria in the 1990s, but was met with strong opposition from the provincial ANC in the Western Cape, who campaigned against it.<\/p>\n
At the time, the cost to move parliament to Pretoria would have been R237 million. Conversely, the cost to move the country\u2019s administration to Cape Town would have been R23.5 billion.<\/p>\n
A revised breakdown of the costs published<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>in 2016 saw\u00a0the costs\u00a0to move parliament rise to an amount of R7 billion\u00a0\u2013 but it was expected that this would save the country between R500 million and R750 million a year in the future.<\/p>\n