Pretoria - The Department of Public Works says there is enough accommodation for ministers and Parliamentarians in Cape Town.
The department is responsible for the provision of accommodation for Members of Parliament (MPs) in Cape Town.
“The department does not foresee major residential accommodation challenges in the Cape Town area, as there is enough available accommodation stock to accommodate all the ministers and the deputies, except only for the period of cleaning and minor repairs after the current occupants have vacated the property,” the department said on Thursday.
According to the rules of engagement for the provision of accommodation for members of the Executive, the following applies: once the President announces the members of the Executive for a given Parliament - in this case, the 5th Parliament - the department issues letters to the non-returning MPs to vacate one of their units immediately and the other one, if applicable, within 30 days.
The Ministerial Handbook states: “Members and their families are entitled, upon relinquishing (termination, retirement, resignation or death) of office, to stay in one State-owned residence until the end of the month following the month in which their term of office ends (one calendar month).”
In the Tshwane region, affected departments will be responsible for incurring the provisional costs of accommodating the political principals while additional accommodation is being sought. This exercise is expected to happen before the end of July.
After the swearing in of MPs, when there is certainty as to who the Members are, the department starts a process with all parties to identify the number of residents for each party.
The department states that it is the responsibility of the parties to ensure that non-returning MPs vacate their residences as a matter of priority after the prescribed 30-day grace period.
The department confirms that hotel block bookings have been made for MPs within the limits of the rates that have been prescribed by the National Treasury. MPs currently accommodated at hotels will all be moved to state houses by 13 June 2014, when the process of house allocations is expected to have been finalised.
Renovations have already started on the houses of the non-returning members and the department, together with parties and Parliament, is currently finalising the number of MPs who will take residence in the villages.
“With regards to office accommodation in Parliament, we are reconfiguring the office spaces of all Ministries and departments within the 120 Plein Street precinct and Parliamentary Towers Building.
“We would like to add that in preventing systemic corruption that we had identified before, the department has overhauled procurement processes, adopted the norms and standards applicable to the procurement of assets under the prestige environment and we are currently rolling out our anti-corruption plans.
“We are therefore confident that there will be no reoccurrence of malpractices in the acquisition of any new accommodation,” the department said.
The department also warns that in the event that there are any attempts at malpractices, swift action will be taken against the culprits. – SAnews.gov.za
