Destructive fire at Parliament
A fire at the parliamentary precinct has caused extensive damage to the National Assembly. A multiagency and multi-pronged investigations are currently underway to determine the exact cause of the fire. However, one person has been arrested in connection with the fire..
The NA Speaker, Ms Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, and the Chairperson of the NCOP, Mr Amos Masondo confirmed that “one of the biggest loses the people of South Africa have suffered in this fire, is the complete burning down of the National Assembly Chamber, a seat of crucial plenary sittings of the National Assembly and joint sittings of the two Houses – the NA and NCOP.” They added that ”the Assembly, as one of the two Houses of Parliament, occupies an important place in the history and evolution of our constitutional democracy. This is the House where over two thousand transformative pieces of legislation have been passed since the dawn of our democracy. The National Assembly Building is historically the third of a series of phases of interlinked buildings comprising Parliament. It was built between 1983 and 1985, to accommodate the expanded needs of the apartheid Tri-cameral Parliament.” “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.” The fire started on the morning of 2 January, and affected both the Old and the National Assembly wings of the buildings of Parliament, which house the National Assembly (NA) and the National Council of Provinces (NCOP). The NA Speaker, Ms Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, and the Chairperson of the NCOP, Mr Amos Masondo, expressed their appreciation for the City of Cape Town Fire and Rescue Services for their prompt reaction and containment of the blaze. The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure, led by Minister Patricia de Lille, as well as the Deputy Minister of State Security Zizi Kodwa, the South African Police Services and Parliament’s security personnel visited Parliament on the day of the fire to assess the situation. No one was injured in the blaze.