City Hall in Cape Town to be handed over to Parliament officers for Sona

The Executive Mayor of Cape Town, Geordin Hill-Lewis, will officially hand over the Cape Town City Hall to Parliament’s Presiding Officers as an alternative venue for the State of the Nation Address (Sona).

The handover will be done next Monday, with Parliament’s Presiding Officers, the Speaker of the National Assembly Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, and the Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, Amos Masondo.

“After the handover, the City Hall will be declared the Parliament of South Africa precinct,” Parliament said on Friday.

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This follows a decision by the Presiding Officers to use the City Hall as an alternative off-site venue for hosting the State of the Nation Address after a devastating fire that destroyed Parliament’s buildings, including the National Assembly and sections of the Old Assembly Chamber on 2 January.

The ANC initially rejected Hill-Lewis’s offer to use alternative venues for Sona following the fire that has left Parliament damaged.

At the time, the party slammed the “Democratic Alliance (DA)-led” efforts , labelling the proposal as “highly opportunistic” and “a political ploy”.

But the party has since reversed its tune, saying all facilities available should be used “to serve the interests of the people”.

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It has been confirmed by police to members of Parliament that for more than nine years, Parliament has failed to upgrade its security – despite receiving a report warning of this in 2013.

The man accused of setting the building ablaze, Zandile Mafe was arrested after the fire broke out and was recently released from the Valkenberg mental hospital. Mafe has been sent to Pollsmoor Prison, as directed by the Western Cape High Court.

The accused is now charged with housebreaking with intent to commit terrorism and arson, arson, terrorism and theft. 

The State of the Nation Address is a joint sitting of the two Houses of Parliament, and President Cyril Ramaphosa will deliver the address on 10 February 2022 at 7pm.

Compiled by Karabo Mashaba. Additional reporting by Molefe Seeletsa.