The National Assembly has passed the Infrastructure Development Bill.

The bill, meant to speed up implementation of strategic projects, was passed on Tuesday with 212 votes in favour and 55 against. Only the Democratic Alliance (DA) strongly opposed the draft law which was introduced to legislature a year ago.

The legislation will give statutory powers to the Presidential Infrastructure Co-ordination Commission, made up of the president and cabinet ministers and premiers designated by him. It aims to fast-track regulatory decision-making on infrastructure programmes to 57 days. The Bill will also extend the state’s powers for expropriation of land needed for infrastructure programmes and states that where expropriation is being contested, the state will carry on with the project while the courts decide the outcome.

The DA opposed the bill, arguing that it places too much power in the hands of the president to drive infrastructure projects, without him directly accounting to any parliamentary portfolio committee. The DA’s Sej Motau argued that this could lead to large scale corruption when South Africa proceeded with expanding its nuclear energy quotient. “It opens the space for another Nkandla-gate scandal,” he said.

Disputing the DA’s argument, Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel told MPs that every project will be subject to the approval of parliamentary oversight committees.