A press conference is expected to be hosted in the next few days to share details of a rebuilding programme, one year after a fire ripped through the National Assembly building.
Parliament spokesperson Moloto Mothapo said Presiding Officers, the Speaker of the Parliament and the chair of the National Council of Provinces would share details about the project's time frames and other relevant information.
On January 2, 2022, South Africans watched in horror as a blaze ripped through the Old Assembly building, lapping part of the New National Assembly.
At the time, Mothapo said the roof where the flare-up occurred during the course of the night had completely collapsed.
Mothapo said for almost three days, the fire tore through the five floors of the Assembly building and the adjacent Old Assembly Wing, collapsing the roof and destroying hundreds of offices which housed Members of Parliament and staff and their contents.
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The South African Heritage Resources Agency said there was a loss of historical value in the precinct. He added that the structural damage to the buildings is quite extensive, the entire roof of the Old Assembly has been destroyed, and the structure of the National Assembly has been damaged.
He said the accident imposed a collective national trauma that will be etched in the minds of South Africans for many years.
"Parliament was encouraged by acts of patriotism from various sectors of society during the distressing period, which included volunteerism, offers of support, and messages of solidarity from sister parliaments and other institutions locally and internationally," Mothapo added.
Meanwhile, the man accused of starting the fire, Zandile Christmas Mafe, spent the festive season behind bars. He faces charges of arson and terrorism. He is due back in court on January 27.
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