R4.6bn parliament rebuild plagued by delays and financial control weaknesses
· Citizen
Parliament’s rebuilding project is facing further delays, with completion of the National Assembly and Old Assembly buildings in Cape Town now expected by June 2027, while irregular expenditure increased to R13.62 million in the 2025-26 financial year.
The total cost to rebuild parliament, which was gutted by fire in January 2022, is projected at R4.6 billion, an increase from the initial R2 billion estimate.
Visit amunra.qpon for more information.
Parliament’s financial control weaknesses
The Auditor-General of South Africa’s audit outcomes report, presented to the Joint Standing Committee on the Financial Management of Parliament on Friday, points to weaknesses in financial reporting controls, technical accounting capacity and the coordination of the multibillion-rand rebuilding project.
Although parliament maintained an unqualified audit opinion with findings, the report identified areas requiring urgent intervention to strengthen accountability and oversight of the project.
Irregular expenditure rose from R8.071 million in 2024-25 to R13.62 million in 2025-26, an increase of approximately 68.7%.
This was also higher than the R7.532 million recorded in 2023-24.
The report did not attribute the increase in irregular expenditure directly to the rebuilding project.
However, the Auditor-General identified financial reporting weaknesses associated with the project, including inconsistencies in the accounting treatment of commitments, retentions, cost allocations and assets under construction.
Financial reporting errors and limited capacity
Among the causes cited were unforeseen site conditions, which contributed to delays and contractor claims.
The report also found that management review controls had failed to detect financial reporting errors timeously, while inadequate coordination between finance and project teams contributed to inconsistencies.
Limited technical accounting capacity further complicated the accounting treatment of the rebuilding project.
The Auditor-General, Tsakane Maluleka, recommended that parliament’s management “strengthen review controls and technical accounting capacity for rebuild-related financial reporting, improve coordination between finance and project management, closely monitor progress against the approved programme, including contractor performance and recovery measures. And continue assessing whether the revised completion date remains achievable and timeously respond to emerging delays”.
According to the report, further discussions were underway concerning the accounting treatment of the arrangement between parliament and the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), particularly whether principal-agent accounting applied and what disclosures were required.
The rebuilding project has therefore emerged as a key area requiring stronger governance, management oversight and accountability.
Zandile Christmas Mafe was arrested and identified as the sole person responsible for the fire. He admitted to the crime multiple times in court but was ultimately declared unfit to stand trial by the Western Cape High Court due to severe mental illness.