Cape Town – The barbed wire and fencing behind Parliament, which is blocking off entrance to Cape Town’s Company’s Garden, was informed by assessment by the police and after a request from the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure.
This was revealed by Secretary to Parliament Xolile George when responding to questions at a meeting of the joint standing committee on financial management of Parliament on Friday.
DA chief whip Siviwe Gwarube said the setting up of barbed wire around Parliament was not welcoming.
“I am not sure what it has been about and what the way forward is” Gwarube said.
She also wanted to know about the issue of public access to the institution since public visitation was closed down due to Covid-19 regulations.
“There are still some entrances that are still restricted. How do we intend to remain open to the public?” Gwarube said.
George said they were reviewing security measures at the national legislature.
“It requires to strike the right balance between deepening the vulnerability of the institution given where we come from and the unfortunate attack in January and numerous attempts by the police and our parliamentary security staff to keep experimenting on the matter,” he said.
George said he had an opportunity to meet SAPS national commissioner Fannie Masemola on the issue of barbed wire in July.
“They did indicate to us that based on their own assessment and on a request from Public Works, closing the area behind Parliament, where the fence is quite low, is to make sure that there is greater security improvement around that area, given that Parliament is not directly accessible now,” he said.
George said the buildings that were affected by the fire in January had been under investigation by law enforcement agencies right up until the end of May.
“There is still a need for us to ensure we protect the institution so that we don’t suffer more unforeseen incidents,” he added.
Gorge noted that certain committees were sitting and that there was a need to strike a balance on security.
“When we review the overall security assessment that still needs to be done as a result of the fire, we will be able to make a determinative view about how we gradually review measures where relaxation is required and what needs to be done so that we don’t create difficulties around this,” he said.
Cape Times
