By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Today marks marks exactly one year since the break out of the fire that gutted the National Assembly building, including the Chamber where plenary sittings of the 400-member House are held, as well as some parts of the Old Assembly building.
A fire broke out in the early morning of 2 January 2022 and continued burning for at least three days.
Fire crews responded to a call from police guarding the national key point within six minutes.
More than 300 men and women were deployed and worked tirelessly over 70 hours to contain the blaze.
But rapidly spreading flames engulfed two sections of Parliament.
The fire affected the Old Assembly and the National Assembly buildings, causing extensive damage to key offices, chambers and meeting rooms.
This resulted in the 2022 State of the Nation Address (Sona) being moved to Cape Town City Hall, a first in the history of South Africa’s constitutional democracy.
Police detectives managed to link a man called Zandile Mafe to the catastrophic fire and arrested him that same day.
He is due back in the dock at the Western Cape High Court on 27 January.
Parliamentary spokesperson, Molotho Mothapo says “the accident imposed a collective national trauma that will be etched in the minds of all South Africans for many years.”
He adds: “Parliament was encouraged by acts of patriotism from various sectors of society during the crisis, which included volunteerism, offers of support as well as messages of well-wishing from sister parliaments and other institutions globally.”
“With this fire crisis, our collective resilience was highly tested, not only as this crucial arm of the state but as a nation. Working together with the people of South Africa, we navigated through the unimaginable, forged ahead and managed to fulfil our obligations to the nation under the Constitution,” says Mothapo.
He notes that the Presiding Officers of Parliament will later this week share details of the rebuilding programme, the project timeframes, and other relevant information at a press conference.