The Presiding Officers of Parliament, led by the Speaker of the National Assembly Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and the Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces Amos Masondo will on Thursday afternoon join City of Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis to inspect possible alternative venues for the State of the Nation Address (SONA).

This after the recent fire in the parliamentary precinct in the early hours of Sunday morning, which caused extensive damage to parts of the property, including the National Assembly.

Preparations for SONA to be delivered by President Cyril Ramaphosa on 10 February 2022 are at an advanced stage.

Venues such as the Municipal Chambers, Cape Town International Convention Centre, and the Town Hall will be inspected.

Meanwhile, the Presiding Officers confirmed that the Fire Department has handed over the affected Parliament buildings to the Hawks to investigate the circumstances around the fire incident.

“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of the Cape Town Fire and Rescue Service Department, who worked tirelessly to contain the blaze, have now completely withdrawn from the parliamentary precinct.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,” a statement read.

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.

The Presiding Officers expressed satisfaction with the overall progress made on the containment of the fire and the investigations currently underway at the precinct of Parliament.