A recent picture of the dilapidated parliament building. A contractor reportedly abandoned its construction over nonpayment in late 2019 | Credit| Philip Buda Ladu/Number One Citizen Newspaper

The speaker of the Revitalized Transitional National Legislative Assembly says constructing a new parliamentary facility is among her top priorities.

Hon. Jemma Nunu Kumba states that the current parliament building will not accommodate the current 550 lawmakers.

The parliament has already been expanded from 450 to 550 lawmakers drawn from parties to the revitalized peace agreement.

The Council of States has also been increased from 50 to 100 legislators.

The joint session of the new MPs was held on Monday at the Freedom Hall, a huge white tent, opposite Dr. John Garang Mausoleum in Juba.

“The assembly leadership is looking at the possibility of constructing a new and larger parliament building to house the big number of MPs who constitute the national legislature,” she told the lawmakers.

Rehabilitation work on the current national parliament building has stalled several times.

Pictures circulating online shows the parliament in a sorry state – with chairs removed from the dusty hall, and the corridors piled with broken furniture and office files.

In her remarks, the speaker Jemma Nunu Kumba told the legislators that she will speed up the renovation work.

“Together with the responsible institutions in the executive arm of the government, we will exert all efforts to address those problems as soon as possible,”

In November 2019, President Salva Kiir instructed the then speaker Anthony Lino Makana to construct a new facility to accommodate additional members of parliament.

However, the contractor abandoned the project over nonpayment.

Weeks later, a member of parliament called for auditing of the parliament for alleged mismanagement after the then speaker stepped down.

Hon. Anthony Lino Makana resigned on 8 December 2019 amidst the mismanagement allegations and calls for resignation.

In November, some members of parliament outlined 12 reasons for the Speaker to resign, saying he had among other things, failed to properly manage the august house.

Until now, no legal action has been taken against Makana.