Sunday, January 02, 2022
“Sad Day for Democracy”
South Africa’s parliament is on fire
The heart of South African democracy burns. Firefighters have been fighting the blazing fire in Parliament in Cape Town since the early hours of the morning. The cause is still unclear.
A fire broke out in the South African parliament in Cape Town. “The roof caught fire and the National Assembly building is also on fire,” a spokesman for the city’s emergency services said in the morning. On the building were flames and thick clouds of smoke to be seen, as reported by journalists. The cause is still unclear, there have been no reports of deaths or injuries.
Firefighters have been fighting against blazing flames at the back of the building complex that houses the old assembly chamber and the National Council of the Provinces since the early hours of the morning, as the state television channel SABC reported.
The fire broke out around 4 a.m. (CET) in a former parliament building. According to initial findings, the fire broke out in the offices and has now spread on the third floor, the spokesman said. The “current National Assembly is still certain,” said former mayor of Cape Town and current minister Patricia de Lille to reporters on site. “The fire brigade has the situation under control.”
The rescue workers feared, however, that the fire could spread in the old parliament rooms, which are furnished with thick carpets and curtains. They asked for reinforcements. The fire brigade tried to put out the flames from a crane. The rescue workers quickly cordoned off the streets in the neighborhood. The barriers reached close to the cathedral where the memorial service for the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and Bishop Desmond Tutu had taken place the day before.
Cracks were found in the walls of a building. The parliament complex consists of three buildings in total. Minister de Lille told Sky News that it was a “very sad day for our democracy”.
Cape Town is the seat of the South African Parliament, which consists of the National Assembly and the House of Lords, while the government is based in Pretoria. A major fire on Table Mountain in Cape Town had already caused devastation in April. The fire hit several historic buildings and destroyed parts of the university library, among other things.