South Africa: Firefighters withdraw from Parliament; buildings handed over to Hawks

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The Presiding Officers of Parliament, led by the Speaker of the National Assembly (NA), Ms Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and the Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), Mr Amos Masondo, are satisfied with the overall progress made on the containment of fire and the investigations currently underway at the precinct of Parliament.

The Presiding Officers can today confirm that the various teams of the Cape Town Fire and Rescue Service Department, who worked tirelessly to contain the blaze, have now completely withdrawn from the parliamentary precinct. Since the firefighters contained the flare-up during the morning of Tuesday, the firefighters had remained on site until yesterday evening, monitoring the situation and combing the inside of the buildings for any potential flare-up.

The firefighters worked over 71 hours with unspeakable courage and bravery to contain the fire. Over 300 men and women were deployed, 60 firefighting appliances and two specialised aerial pieces of equipment were used during the three-day battle against the blaze.

The Fire Department has handed the affected buildings to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, also known as the Hawks, to investigate the circumstances around the unfortunate and devastating fire incident that started on Sunday.

Engineers from the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure are also on-site to determine if the affected buildings are safe for access by the Hawks.

The investigators will gain access to the buildings once they receive confirmation from the multidisciplinary team of engineers, including structural, electrical, and forensic experts.

Meanwhile, preparations for the State of the Nation Address (SONA) to be delivered by President Cyril Ramaphosa on 10 February 2022 are at an advanced stage.

This afternoon, the Presiding Officers will join the Mayor of the City of Cape Town on inspection of the possible alternative venues, such as the Municipal Chambers, Cape Town International Convention Centre, and the Town Hall.

The inspection follows the offer by the provincial government of the Western Cape and the City of Cape Town for the use of these venues for both the SONA and the Budget speech.

The Presiding Officers will announce the approved venue soon.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: The Parliament.