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Zvamaida Murwira Senior Reporter

The Parliament of Zimbabwe has started relocating from its central Harare offices built around a converted hotel, to the new large and purpose-built Parliament building in Mount Hampden, in north-west Harare, after it was officially handed over to President Mnangagwa by the Chinese Government last week.

The new building will start by hosting a three-day pre-budget seminar this week that has traditionally been held in hotels owing to space constraints in the old building.

The pre-budget seminar is a consultative process spearheaded by Parliament’s portfolio committee on Budget, Finance and Investment Promotion and draws Treasury led by Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube with captains of industry, economists and others to gather views for the 2024 national budget.

In a statement yesterday, Parliament of Zimbabwe said the relocation process will take it about two weeks to complete.

“The Parliament of Zimbabwe wishes to inform all its valued stakeholders that it is relocating from the current building located in the central business district (CBD), to the New Parliament Building located in Mt Hampden. This historic relocation follows the successful handover of the New Parliament Building by the People’s Republic of China to His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Dr ED Mnangagwa, who subsequently handed it over to the Speaker of Parliament.

“The New Parliament Building is a magnificent and imposing edifice that symbolises the enduring cultural heritage, abiding values, hopes, aspirations and achievements of the Zimbabwean people,” reads the statement.

“The relocation process is expected to take approximately two weeks, beginning on Monday, October 30. In that regard, some services provided by the Parliament of Zimbabwe may be temporarily interrupted or delayed during this relocation process.

“However, we will strive to ensure that critical services continue to be provided through our personnel stationed either at the CBD or the New Parliament Building offices. We wish to apologise for any inconveniences that may be caused by the relocation and we appeal to all stakeholders and the general public to bear with us during this transitional process. We remain committed to serving you better from our new premises.”

During the ceremony, President Mnangagwa was given the symbolic keys to the building by China International Development Co-operation Agency Vice Chairman, Mr Tang Wenhong, a special envoy from Chinese leader President Xi Jinping.

Mr Tang and Local Government and Public Works Minister Winston Chitando signed agreements to mark the official handover of the building.

The building was completed in record time despite setbacks that include Covid-19 that limited gatherings and that saw some Chinese engineers and technicians failing to return as scheduled from Beijing where they had gone on leave owing to a global lockdown imposed as a measure to contain the pandemic.

In his speech during the handover ceremony, President Mnangagwa said China has been the main anchor of major economic milestones that the Second Republic has registered including the construction of the New Parliament Building.

He said there has been growing diplomatic and economic engagement between Zimbabwe and China over the past years resulting in more companies from the Asian economic giant coming to take huge investments in the country.

Outlining how the idea of a new Parliament building was conceived, President Mnangagwa said it was during my State Visit to China in 2018, President Xi Jinping made a political decision to support four key projects in the country.

These were through a concessionary loan facility for the construction of Hwange Unit 7 and 8 as well as another for the modernisation and upgrade of the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport, and a grant for the construction of this New Parliament Building.

Additionally, support was availed for the NetOne Broadband Expansion Project and all projects have been successfully completed and commissioned, he said.

The New Parliament Building, he said, was a key enabler for legislators to effectively discharge their duties.

The old building started life as a hotel built in the 1890s and going bankrupt soon afterwards and being snapped up by the BSA Company then ruling the country for government offices. It was eventually handed over to the Parliament, with the National Assembly Chamber being the old dining room, and with verandas being bricked in to provide more space during colonial times and a small multi-story block added in the 1950s for the Federal Chamber, later used by the Senate, and more offices.