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S. African gov't still pondering moving Parliament from Cape Town to Pretoria

Xinhua, October 25, 2016 Adjust font size:

The government is still pondering moving Parliament from Cape Town to Pretoria, South African president Jacob Zuma said on Tuesday.

The issue is being analyzed by various government departments, Zuma said as he answered questions from MPs in the National Council of Provinces.

The cost of maintaining two capitals -- Pretoria as the executive capital and Cape Town as the legislative capital -- is huge and relocating Parliament from Cape Town to Pretoria will save money, Zuma said.

The Executive has to be moved up and down, not staying in one place and doing government work, said Zuma.

Social impact studies have been done to determine the impact of moving Parliament. Studies conducted in 1995, 1997 and 2011 showed that the cost of relocation will be less than maintaining the status quo.

Relocating Parliament will help MPs interact with the public quickly, said Zuma, adding that the decision to relocate Parliament from Cape Town to Pretoria lies with Parliament.

The ruling African National Congress (ANC) strongly advocates the relocation of Parliament, saying that the sooner, the better.

The current arrangement of locating the legislative capital more than 1,000 kilometers away from the executive capital can no longer be justified politically, the ANC said.

The costs of accommodation, support staff, and travel for ministers and officials do not represent value for taxpayers' money, the ANC maintains.

But opponents argue that moving Parliament will cost billions of rands in an economy that's barely avoiding a recession. The actual amount in question is out to tender. The government intends paying about one million rand (about 70,000 U.S. dollars) to someone to conduct a feasibility study.

Moreover, opponents accuse the ANC of trying to remove the high-profile legislature from Cape Town out of "ulterior motives".

The ANC has been trying hard to take control of Cape Town which is administered by the opposition Democratic Alliance, but to no avail.

Moving Parliament from Cape Town would diminish the political and economic importance of the city, opponents said. Endit