Who did this?: Burning questions of parliament fire

Was it arson, incompetence, negligence or simply a metaphor for the years of neglect from government?

Questions around the fire which gutted the Old Assembly wing at parliament yesterday are raging as hotly as the fire, which continued to burn late into the afternoon at the National Assembly wing yesterday.

The fire began, for the second time since March 2021, in the Old Assembly wing a little after 5am yesterday.

According to Temba Gubula of the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu), the buildings were not safety compliant, which the union’s shop stewards had reported to parliament management. Gubula also claimed members were told not to appear for night shifts in December, as “there was no money” to pay them.

Following the July riots, which broke out after former president Jacob Zuma’s incarceration for contempt and the ongoing incidents of alleged sabotage at Eskom, questions are raised about a possible “attack” on South Africa.

President Cyril Ramaphosa said the fire was “devastating, coming as it does a day after our send-off for Archbishop Desmond Tutu”.

“Waking up to the destruction of parliament is a terrible setback from what we were basking in yesterday,” Ramaphosa said. “The Archbishop would have been devastated as well, as this is a place he prayed for, supported and wanted to see as a repository of our democracy.”

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Police spokesperson Brigadier Vish Naidoo confirmed a 51-yearold male was arrested. He will appear in court today.

Political analyst Daniel Silke said whether resulting from structural deficiencies, sloppy maintenance and security or sinister intent, the fire “symbolically represented a deep concern for ethical and stable governance in SA in a critical year set to test political accountability”.

Speaker of parliament Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula said she was “particularly concerned” about the claim it was under attack.

“It would be a sad day for SA, a very sad day for everyone, to even have an idea, let alone an intention, to go and attack such an institution,” Mapisa-Nqakula said. “This is an institution where our constitution was drafted and adopted.”

However, Mapisa-Nqakula said she did not want to speculate at this stage if it was, indeed, arson. “I cannot imagine any patriot who would actually go all out and attack our democracy in the manner suggested.

“Because this is not an attack on our parliament. If that is so, it would be an attack on everything South Africans have fought for, everything our constitution stands for, everything SA voted for, even in the last election.

“I do not want to believe … someone would walk into parliament and burn down our constitution.”

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Silke said it was possible there were elements attempting to destabilise the country. “We certainly don’t know if the fire is part of the issue or not. We have seen examples, particularly in the Eskom story, arson in other parts of the country.

“If it was a technical difficulty, so be it, it could happen to any building. It could also be a lack of maintenance, a slow response to existing infrastructural problems, problems from the previous fire which were not fully addressed which should have been a warning light,” said Silke.

“It will be seen by many as symbolic of the decline in the ability of the state to protect its citizens, which we see in the high crime rate, but also an inability to protect the infrastructure of SA.”

Silke said as a national key point, parliament formed a critical part of that infrastructure.

Public Works Minister Patricia de Lille said the first fire in March was caused by an electrical short. De Lille said as a heritage site, the building fell under South African Heritage Resources Agency and any renovations or repairs would only happen with its permission.

State Security Deputy Minister Zizi Kodwa was also on site and would be releasing his own report, she said.

“The roof of the Old Assembly building has collapsed and is gone,” said Jean-Pierre Smith, Cape Town’s mayoral committee member for safety and security. The historic building houses a collection of rare books and the original copy of the former Afrikaans national anthem Die Stem (The Voice of South Africa), which was already damaged.

“The entire building has suffered extensively smoke and water damage,” Smith said, adding “the fire has not been contained”.

– Additional reporting by AFP

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