National Assembly Speaker honours firefighters who battled the blaze
National Asmbly Speaker, Ms Nosiviwe MapisaNqukula has expressed her “eternal gratitude” and thanked the “formidable firefighters” who tirelessly battled the devastating fire at the Parliamentary precinct.. Ms Mapisa-Nqakula said she was a “proud South African to be living in the same country as the team of compatriots that constituted the formidable team of firefighters that battled the unfortunate inferno” at Parliament. “In the past few days you showed South Africans the real size of your hearts. On behalf of our Parliament leadership, our head of state, and the nation, we thank you. Not only do we thank you for your bravery, but for your love of your country that led you to even answer to this calling in the first place,” Ms Nqakula confirmed that, despite brave attempts by the firefigthers, the fire thad completely destroyed the National Assembly Chamber. She added, “we have just been in a briefing meeting by all critical roleplayers, on this devastating incident of fire that gutted some important buildings of the Parliamentary precinct, and its aftermath. We are indeed devastated and deeply saddened. We are pained by the damage to the Old Assembly Chamber and building, the National Assembly Chamber, and critical offices of Parliament, which are a national key point and the legislative seat of our country, whose value is beyond any measure. This democratic institution has a deep history which represents unparalleled heritage treasures for our country and a source of social unity and cohesion required in our nation-building programme.”
The building follows the same neo-classical style of the other two buildings, and a notable feature of the façades is that all the decorative elements were skilfully made up of prefabricated concrete, using special moulds prepared for this purpose. The architects also made extensive use of local granite and marble for the lobbies, with rich geometric details and patterns, referencing the original 1885 building of the National Council of Provinces Building from 100 years earlier. In 2008, new offices were added for the President, the Speaker and Deputy Speaker. These new additions have not been affected by the fire. We appreciate the fact that some important sections were saved. These include the NCOP Chamber and offices, the Parliament Library, the Museum including artworks and heritage objects as well as the Keiskama tapestry on the ground floor of the Old Assembly Building. We wish to reiterate our gratitude to the responsive Fire Fighting and Rescue Services of the City of Cape Town, the Minister and the Department of Public Works Ms Patricia de Lille and the South African Police Services, as well as our officials. We are grateful to the President Cyril Ramaphosa and a number of members of his executive, who have been hands-on from the outset and provided necessary moral support to the firefighters.