AFRICAN ALLIANCE TO BUILD MULTIMILLION MPS VILLAGE

MBABANE – It is now official, the proposed construction of a multimillion residential village for parliamentarians could become a reality sooner than many could have anticipated.

And while it is one project that others might regard as expensive, it appears to be one of the best ways in which Parliament will save costs of hosting conferences in hotels and lodges and spending money on bookings for the accommodation of legislators. The project will come into fruition courtesy of a public private partnership (PPP) set to be signed between the Parliament of Eswatini and investment powerhouse, African Alliance. While the cost of the project has not yet been ascertained, it is anticipated that it will be over E100 million when judging from similar projects undertaken in neighbouring countries like South Africa.

construction

It should be pointed out that a few months ago, the Clerk to Parliament, Benedict Xaba, said the project had been put on hold. The construction of the residential village is part of the controversial project of building a new Parliament, which some critics arguing that it was not urgent or a necessity at this point in time, since there were other pressing issues which required government attention. These are, among others, the provision of drugs in hospitals, food security and energy generation projects. When the news of the Parliament building surfaced, it was discovered that the project was to include the residential village.

accommodate

It was said that the village would be made up of 120 houses to accommodate members of the House of Assembly (MPs) and senators. The members of the previous Parliament were among the critics of the project, in particular the 120 houses. The argument by the former MPs was that it was enough that a new Parliament building would be constructed. They were against additional costs to the project such as building the houses. In April this year, the clerk to Parliament clarified that the construction of the houses formed part of Phase II of the project.

agreement

However, it seems it is now all systems go with the project as the African Alliance has already agreed in principle to construct the village through the PPP agreement. On Wednesday, the African Alliance made a presentation to the new parliamentarians, where it detailed how the village would look like. The presentation was made by General Manager Victor Langa. On Friday, Xaba, in an interview confirmed by saying: “Yes, a model that we will use as Parliament and African Alliance will see the construction of the campus. So basically, Phase I is about the Parliament structure then the campus will be the second phase.” When asked to state when the construction would probably begin, he said they had not yet agreed on timelines.
Xaba was asked to explain the funding and he confirmed that the African Alliance would pay the costs and Parliament would, in turn, repay the money in accordance with the agreements.
“What I should state is that we have not finalised yet, which is why some of the details cannot be revealed for now. We have not signed the documents yet,” he said. He explained that cost benefits would come with the construction of the residential village.

necessarily

“As you are aware, we spend a lot of money to host conferences and workshops in hotels. Once we have the residential villages, the MPs will be accommodated there. It will have a kitchen as well. They will not necessarily stay there, but will spend some days and nights whenever there were sessions,” the clerk said. Elaborating on the saving of costs, he said whenever there was to be no sessions; the structure would generate income as the apartments would be leased out for bookings. “It does not mean that the MPs will leave their homes and constituencies. We will use a block approach. For example, the members will come for one of two weeks, work on Bills and then once that is done, Parliament will take a break and they return to their constituencies” he said.

benefits

Regarding where the project was piloted, Xaba said the Parliamentary Service Board did a proper homework. He said the Board looked at countries like Tanzania and Kenya. He said it was found that such projects had enormous benefits. Xaba was asked how African Alliance was selected when there was no invitation to tender. In response, the clerk-to-Parliament said the entity submitted a proper model, which they felt was appropriate. An MP who spoke on condition of anonymity said after listening to the presentation, he was satisfied with the whole plan. “What I am happy about is that the residential village will be constructed by a local company. It is a fact that when it comes to major projects like this one, we secure external loans which come with strict terms and conditions.

granted

“For example, there were reports that the new Parliament building loan had a condition that the material would have to be sourced from India, as it was the one that granted us the loan. This was a big concern,” he said. If African Alliance eventually enters into the PPP agreement with the Parliament of Eswatini, the MP said there would be a lot of benefits for the country as whole. “Our economy is in a state where we want money to circulate locally. We have seen African Alliance investing in major investments and I do believe that the country will benefit a lot in this one as well,” he said. In June last year, members of the 12th Parliament clashed during a sitting at the House of Assembly, when they debated the issue of the Parliament building.

supported

The clash emanated from a division wherein some declared that they supported the proposed plan, others were against it. Other MPs said they were against the terms and conditions that came with the loan the country has sought from India for the project. This was despite the fact that it was the former MPs themselves who passed a Bill for the construction of the new Parliament together with the terms and conditions of the project loan. It should be noted that the African Alliance is not new to undertaking major investments. Early this year, His Majesty King Mswati III officially opened two major projects under the African Alliance Group. These were the Matsapha Link, which is estimated to be worth E159 million and Malkerns Square, which is valued at E149 million. Also, the African Alliance committed to the Manzini Arch project, which was said to possibly have about E4 billion invested upon completion. The company is also known for being the majority shareholder of the Select Group of companies, which was established to cater for short-term loans for emaSwati.

financed

The first branch of Select was established in 1999 and it was the first micro-finance house in Eswatini before it spread its wings to other parts of the African continent. Meanwhile, the project for the new Parliament has been financed by the Government of the Republic of India, which extended to Eswatini a ‘soft loan’ of US$108.28 million through the Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank). This is the equivalent of E1.9 billion at the current foreign exchange. The Eswatini Parliament currently has about 101 parliamentarians, who include 71 MPs and 30 senators. In terms of their remuneration, it is provided in the Circular No.2 of 2023, that they are entitled to a housing allowance. The circular is the framework that determines the terms and conditions of service of parliamentarians, designated office bearers of the 12th Parliament and the Attorney General (AG).

However, the current set-up is such that it is only the prime minister (PM), deputy prime minister, presiding officers, ministers and regional administrators who are allocated government-owned residences for official purposes. It the cases of South Africa, while having the parliamentary villages has had positives, there have also been negatives. In 2019, it was reported that the neighbouring country had three parliamentary villages, which were not just low class buildings, but ones which were up to standards and its upkeep and transport had cost almost three quarters of a billion Rand, over the two previous parliamentary terms. The parliamentary villages house Members of Parliament in Cape Town (and officials) when they attend committee meetings and sittings within the parliamentary precinct during the year.

upkeep

It was reported that the costs of upkeep, levies, construction and transport for the three parliamentary villages was R363 million over the five years of the fifth term, according to the Department of Public works. It was said that because Parliament is located in Cape Town, a two-hour flight from the administrative capital in Pretoria, MPs are housed in three parliamentary villages in the Mother City when Parliament is in session. As of late December 2018, it was said that they had a total of 666 housing units managed by the Department of Public Works. According to News24, a majority of the units - 493 - are located at Acacia Park, with 65 at Laboria Park and 108 at Pelican Park. In late 2018, about 224 housing units were occupied by MPs at Acacia Park, 55 at Laboria Park and 63 at Pelican Park, while ministers and the president were reportedly having separate accommodations. When it was enquired how much had been spent for the upkeep and management of the three villages over the five years, the figure was said to be E363 million.

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