CAPE TOWN, Jan. 7 — South African Parliament on Friday announced it will host its flagship program, the State of the Nation Address (SONA), at the historic City Hall of Cape Town, the legislative capital of South Africa, after the recent fire incident at the Parliament precinct.
South African President every year calls a joint sitting of the National Assembly (NA), the lower house, and the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), the upper house, to deliver SONA. The fire, which lasted more than 70 hours from Sunday, however, severely damaged the NA building and completely burned down the NA chamber, which was used to host the event, forcing the parliament to find an alternative venue.
The City Hall was considered a suitable venue for the event, scheduled on Feb. 10, technically in terms of infrastructure and its capacity and due to its “historical significance,” the parliament said in a statement.
The City Hall in the city center, built-in 1905, was the first place where former South African President Nelson Mandela addressed the nation after his release from prison on Feb. 11, 1990. On May 9, 1994, Mandela was introduced to South African people in the same balcony of the building after he was elected as the nation’s first democratic president.
The parliament promised not to let its work derailed or disrupted.
The State of the Nation Address is the only occasion that brings together the three arms of the state — the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary — under one roof.
Firefighters completely withdrew from the parliamentary precinct Thursday after monitoring the situation and combing the inside of buildings for a potential flare-up.
The cause of the fire, which also caused extensive damage to the century-old Old Assembly building that houses the upper house, is still unknown, but a 49-year-old man “allegedly linked to setting parliament building alight” was arrested and appeared in court Tuesday.
The law enforcement agencies are currently investigating the source of the fire. (Xinhua)
South African Parliament to move flagship program to historic Cape Town City Hall after fire
