By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
A fire at the official residence of new Free State premier is estimated to have caused millions of rands in damage, which may include expensive antique furniture and paintings.
The spokesperson of the premier Sello Dithebe confirmed that officials of the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure were on the premises renovating the house when the fire started.
He explained that the roof of the house has caved in and the first/top floor is severely damaged as a result of the fire. He doesn’t want to speculate about the losses. He is, however, aware of the historical and valuable paintings inside.
“The next step is to give space and allow the forensics to do their job to determine what caused the fire and what has been damaged in the house,” he added.
Dithebe stated that the new premier, Mxolisi Dukwana, had according to his knowledge not moved in yet. It is unclear if there were people in the main house when it caught fire. However, no one was hurt in the incident.
The South African Police Services (SAPS) will release a statement on their findings.
The spokesperson for the Mangaung Metro Municipality, Qondile Khedama, explained that it took Mangaung Fire and Rescue seven minutes to arrive at the scene after they received the emergency call.
“After the officials arrived on the scene and assessed the magnitude of the fire, they noticed that backup is needed in order to put out the fire as quickly as possible,” explained Khedama.
The information he was given by his team is that in addition to the damaged roof, a wall has also been damaged. “As to what caused the fire, it will not be determined by us. The relevant authorities who are on the scene will do that.”
He wanted to thank the Fire and Rescue team for their speedy response and he is confident that everything will be back to normal in no time.
Dukwana stepped into the shoes of outgoing premier Sisi Ntombela, who resigned last month.